L Ganesan is new TN BJP president, election unanimous

Chennai, Sep 22 (UNI) L Ganesan, a former national secretary of the BJP, was today unanimously elected president of the party's Tamil Nadu unit.

Mr Ganesan's candidature was proposed by 72 members of the General Council, when the nominations opened last evening in the presence of Mr Ram Naik, the central observer. They were scrutinised by M S Ramalingam, a party office bearer.

The party's senior leaders Venkiah Naidu, Bandaru Dattatreya, Ram Naik, the outgoing President C P Radhakrishnan, H Raja, S Thirunavukkarasar and K N Lakshamanan congratulated and felicitated Mr Ganesan, who had also earlier served as Tamil Nadu unit's General Secretary and the Organisational Secretary, besides holding the post of All India Secretary.

Lauding the election of Mr Ganesan as the President at a time when the state unit of the BJP is making efforts to redeem itself after the debacle in the May assembly elections in alliance with the Janata Party, Mr Venkiah Naidu told UNI '' Ganesan is a knowledgable person. He has the capacity and the calibre to deliver the goods.'' Later, the General Council of the party at its meeting presided over by the new President, passed a resolution that the state unit would contest the forthcoming elections to local bodies in alliance with the Janata Party.

In another resolution, it condemned the Tamil Nadu government for failing to take steps to implement the Supreme Court order permitting it to rise the level of water in the Mullaperiyar dam to 142 feet.

In another resolution, the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP also condemned the non participation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in any of the functions to celebrate the centenary of the national song 'Vande Mataram'.

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