The Poes Garden lady wanted the candidates of her front to be announced on July 23. But the dithering in the Congress camp over the identification of constituencies forced a delay of nearly a week. A restless Jayalalitha was forced to cool her heels as a divided Congress struggled to reach a consensus on the party candidates.

The Amma not only announced her candidates early but also set off on a whirlwind campaign from August 1, leaving a jaded Congress nonplussed and panic-stricken.

The extent ofdisarray in the TNCC was so deep that the party could not even take advantage of the Puratchi Thalaivi's campaign in their constituencies. Even the PCC president, Tindivanam K. Ramamurthy, was yet to get his seat -- Tindivanam. Yet, he waited with folded hands, bending over backwards to make her tour of the Tindivanam constituency a success.

Worse, even before the AICC had cleared the names of the Congress candidates, the Amma had to don the mantle of AICC president too and announce Tindivanam Ramamurthy as the candidate. This was a face-saving act for the Congressmen as she would be unable to tour the constituency again. An embarrassed Ramamurthy had to explain away the gaffe, saying the AICC was bound to clear the candidature of the PCC chief.

Similar was the plight of Mani Shankar Aiyer, who preaches to the country about moral standards and ethical practices. In the Mayiladuthurai constituency, the Amma had to again introduce him as the Congress `candidate' though there was no such announcement fromthe AICC. The campaign thus assumed farcical tones. Some Congress leaders have reportedly protested to the AICC that the AIADMK had declared the candidature of TNCC leaders even before the AICC released the official list.

Thus proceeded the first leg of Jayalalitha's tour, which was marked by outlandish cut-outs, lavish expenditure, a 100-vehicle convoy, pomp and show. Yet, the emaciated Congress machinery was in no position to take advantage of it.

In fact, most leaders of the various groups that operate in the Congress found themselves in Delhi to `secure' seats at any cost, moving heaven and earth to scuttle the prospects of their rivals.

Several former PCC presidents were in the race for party tickets either for themselves or their relatives -- K.V. Thangabalu, M.P. Subramaniam, Kumari Ananthan and Maragatham Chandrasekhar. The pernicious caste system dominates the Congress selection process. Thus, working at cross-purposes are lobbies and pressure groups for Vanniars, Dalits, Naidus, Nadars,minorities and so on.

By the time the AICC clears the whole list and the dust settles, the AIADMK supremo is bound to have completed a tour of more than one-third of the constituencies. There is little prospect of a second round to come to the rescue of the Congress candidates.

The Indian National League (INL), an ally of the Congress-AIADMK front, is facing its own problems. An MLA, A.V.A. Nassar of Bhuvanagiri constituency, has resigned from the party in protest against the decision to align with the AIADMK.

The Congress is also saddled with several weak constituencies, particularly in north Tamil Nadu where the DMK-PMK combination is considered strong. Adding to its woes is the strengthening of the TMC-led front with the inclusion of several Dali organisations. The TMC, which is already the real Congress in the state, could overpower the Congress candidates in almost all the constituencies.

The Congress and the AIADMK are banking heavily on the campaign by Sonia Gandhi. So far, there is noindication of when a joint campaign would be undertaken. Time, tide and Jayalalitha are in no mood to wait for the Congress in Tamil Nadu.

In fact, the Congress would have struggled to find candidates had it applied the norm that those who lost the last two elections should be denied tickets. PCC president Tindivanam Ramamurthy, former PCC presidents Thangabalu and Kumari Ananthan and former Union Minister R. Prabhu would have lost out. The Congress drew a blank in 1996 and 1998 in Tamil Nadu. The way it is going about the poll process now, the party is heading for another dismal performance.