With death of Elangovan, Congress loses a Tamil Nadu pillar, with long political pedigree, lasting ties

If politics ran in his blood, Elangovan made other passions his own, such as motor racing, even competing in Cholavaram races in 1972 and 1973. He was also a close friend of thespian Sivaji Ganesan, who helped him secure his first ticket for an Assembly election, though their paths later diverged, and was a schoolmate of J Jayalalithaa, the late AIADMK leader and Chief Minister of the state.

Elangovan was also known for his straightforwardness, often courting controversy as a result. At the same time, he is credited with bringing the many factions in the Tamil Nadu Congress together.

He first entered politics when he was studying economics at Presidency College in Chennai, becoming the secretary of the Students Congress in 1967. By the 1970s, he had started his rise through its ranks.

Elangovan’s father E V K Sampath, a founding member of the DMK, which was born out of Periyar’s movement, had broken away to join the Congress too. But his mother Sulochana Sampath rose to become a stalwart of the AIADMK – which does not appear to have ever come between the mother and son.

In 1984, Elangovan became an MLA for the first time, winning from Sathyamangalam on the Congress ticket. Showing his independent streak, in 1988, as a first-time MLA, Elangovan joined four other Congress legislators in resigning rather than following the party whip to vote against the AIADMK government led by Janaki Ramachandran. He even briefly left the Congress to join the Tamizhaga Munnetra Munnani, founded by Ganesan, but returned to Congress after the 1989 Assembly elections.

In 1996, when veteran Congress leader G K Moopanar split to form the Tamil Maanila Congress, Elangovan was one of the senior leaders who stayed with the Congress.

By then his ability to unite factions was well-known, and in 2002, in his first tenure as Tamil Nadu party chief, it was Elangovan who facilitated the return of the Tamil Maanila Congress back into the Congress fold. Before the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, he also succeeded in getting P Chidambaram, who had joined the Tamil Nadu Congress and then formed a splinter outfit, to return to the Congress.

The same year, when the Congress-led UPA formed a government at the Centre, Elangovan won his first Lok Sabha election, from Gobichettipalayam, and was appointed Union Minister of State, handling important portfolios like Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Commerce.

However, Elangovan suffered defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Then came 2014, when the Congress suffered a massive defeat in the Lok Sabha polls under a Modi wave. Subsequently, almost all the senior leaders of the Congress, including Jayanthi Natarajan, deserted the party.

In November 2014, under these circumstances, then Congress president Sonia Gandhi chose Elangovan to lead the party in Tamil Nadu again. He held the post till June 2016, and in 2019, tried for the Lok Sabha polls again, but failed.

But, under his leadership, the Congress saw a new revival in Tamil Nadu, and in 2014, it won eight Assembly seats. He was a relentless traveller, covering the state, organising protests, and taking up issues like corruption and governance. His long association with trade unions, especially the INTUC’s transport wing, helped, while the IT wing of the state Congress saw a push.

Elangovan was also seen as instrumental in bringing outspoken actor-turned-politician Khushboo to the party in 2014 after she quit the DMK, and finding space for other young talent in the party. Many of these younger colleagues, such as Karur MP S Jothimani, referred to him as “appa (father)”.

Now in the BJP, Khushboo told The Indian Express that working under Elangovan was one of the best phases of her political career. “He was one leader who believed in inclusivity. He believed that everybody needed to walk together. He remembered every cadre by name. He had a terrific sense of humour too, and was easygoing, approachable and accessible. Everyone in the party felt safe in his presence. I feel I have lost an elder brother.”

One reason for the Congress’s lasting alliance with the DMK were Elangovan’s warm relations with both Karunanidhi and current DMK chief and CM, M K Stalin.

In his condolence message Saturday, Stalin called Elangovan “a dear friend with the ability to speak from the depths of his heart”, adding: “Hailing from a long-standing political legacy, his demise is a great loss to Tamil Nadu politics.”

In January 2023, Elangovan suffered the biggest setback of his life when his elder son Thirumagan E Ve Ra, the MLA from Erode East, passed away. Elangovan contested the by-election for the seat and won.

He is survived by his wife and younger son, Sanjay Sampath – who, breaking away from the long family tradition, has kept out of politics.