Former union minister GK Vasan, who broke away from the Congress on November 3, cannot be underestimated and the new party he is launching this month can rewrite political equations in Tamil Nadu.

In 1996, the Congress had a vote share of 15 percent. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had contested all the 39 Lok Sabha seats from the state but it failed to win any seat and polled just 4.3 percent of the votes.

“Vasan just needs to revive that 15 percent share. And in Tamil Nadu this vote share can be tapped by proper leadership of the party,” says a city-based political observer.

Former union minister EVKS Elangovan who has been appointed as the chief of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) after BS Gnanadesikan quit as TNCC chief on October 30 is not seen as a strong leader.

Political analysts feel that if Vasan has a proper line of action he could emerge stronger than Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam’s (DMDK) Vijayakanth. However, the picture would be clear only after the launch of Vasan’s new party on November 28 in Tiruchirappalli.

Vasan’s father, late GK Moopanar, along with P Chidambaram had floated the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) ahead of the 1996 assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Vasan as the president of the TMC had merged the party with the Congress in 2002 after his father’s death.

Meanwhile, preparations are on by Vasan for the launch of the new party. Prominent leaders of Vasan group, including former Congress MLA Peter Alphonse, are on a tour of the state, meeting supporters to finalise organisational set up of the party at the local level.