Chennai: After having suffered a humiliating defeat in the May 16 Assembly elections, the Tamil Maanila Congress on Monday launched formal talks with the DMK for arriving at an “electoral understanding” to contest the ensuing local body elections.
TMC chief G.K. Vasan drove to the residence of DMK Treasurer M K Stalin on Monday morning and held discussions for over 30 minutes.
During the meeting, the two leaders are understood to have decided to work together on a host of issues concerning the state like sharing of the Cauvery river water, besides discussing the local body polls threadbare.
Mr Stalin, who seems to have an aversion towards the Congress, was not successful in bringing the TMC to the DMK alliance during the Assembly elections since the G.K. Vasan-led party was hoping for an understanding with AIADMK. But, after the DMK lost the Assembly polls and TMC faced a drubbing, the two leaders met at a private function and launched preliminary talks about their coming together.
Sources told DC that Mr Stalin wants to strengthen the alliance led by DMK and is keen on admitting the TMC into the combine for the local body polls since the elections at the grassroots level would be fought on individual strength of the candidates and pure local issues.
“As far as local body polls are concerned, it is political and electoral understanding between political parties that works on the ground. Sometimes even an alliance fails because of equations at the grassroots level. So we are of the firm view that an electoral understanding with the DMK would work well for us,” a senior TMC leader told Deccan Chronicle.
Though Mr Vasan was non-committal on whether his party would be able to clinch an understanding, sources said the deal would be done immediately after the State Election Commission announces the schedule for the local body polls.
