Sonia to skip Tamil Nadu

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, MAY 3. The Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, will not be campaigning in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, general secretary, said today. ``Ms. Gandhi is coming to Pondicherry where she will address a public meeting on the afternoon of May 8 (the last day of campaigning),'' Mr. Azad told presspersons here.

Asked whether this decision was due to the experience of the AIADMK chief, Ms. Jayalalitha, not attending an election rally participated by Ms. Gandhi in Villupuram in August 1999, the Mr. Azad denied it and said,``that was a mere coincidence''.During electioneering, such things did happen and in many cases, leaders were not able to address even scheduled meetings and share the dais with others on all the occasions. ``At the time of elections, we do not stand on formalities. For instance, in Kerala, the Leader of Opposition was present only in one out of 10 meetings addressed by Ms. Gandhi,'' Mr. Azad said.

Ms. Gandhi had to cover different States, from Kerala in the south to Assam in the east. ``She has hardly a week to canvass for votes, and travelling from one State to another takes seven to eight hours. She is required more in the States where the Congress is a major player.'' Mr. Azad brushed aside questions on whether the absence of joint campaign by Ms. Gandhi and Ms. Jayalalitha would send a signal that the State had become unimportant to the Congress and it was due to the party contesting less number of seats.

As for Tamil Nadu, the party was contesting the elections as part of the ``secular front'' led by Ms. Jayalalitha. ``She is our star campaigner here. When we are more than satisfied that she is strong enough to get us votes and seats, where is the need for pulling out Ms. Gandhi from her election tour,'' Mr. Azad asked.

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