Chennai: Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu are keeping their fingers crossed and waiting for the decision of the party high command over the deadlock in seat-sharing talks with DMK, anticipating an amicable settlement since contesting alone could be disastrous for the party.
The usual chants of forming ‘Kamaraj rule’ heard during ordinary times are not audible now as functionaries are aware of the ground realities and compulsion for the party to do better than state rival TMC and national rival BJP, who are in the fray.
Before 2014 Parliamentary elections, the DMK ditched Congress which was forced to go it alone. The party’s performance was dismal as it secured less than four per cent votes in 139 Assembly segments. Among the 139 seats, it got less than two per cent votes in 29 segments, while ending up with less than three per cent votes in 54 seats.
The party’s vote share slumped to 4.33 per cent, which is the lowest in its history in Tamil Nadu where it ruled for three terms till 1967. A Congress functionary said, “Talks with DMK are going on smoothly. We have joined the DMK alliance and so there is no question of going it alone. But, the DMK should give us more number of seats since our vote share has improved to over 10 per cent due to the dynamic leadership of E.V.K.S. Elangovan. Secular forces should be united to defeat the rising communal forces”.
Analysts feel that the party risks falling behind Tamil Maanila Congress led by former Union minister G.K. Vasan, who is pinning hopes on joining the AIADMK front with at least 12 seats. If TMC joins the AIADMK alliance with a dozen seats, Vasan’s party winning more seats will become bright. Besides, the BJP is leading a band of smaller parties and determined to overtake Congress in the Assembly polls.
Political commentator ‘Aazhi’ Senthilnathan said “Congress can win only one or two seats in Tamil Nadu. In 2011, the circumstances were different and it was allocated 63 seats. Now, the Congress is not in power at the Centre and it has not attracted new voters. An offer of 30 seats itself is high for the Congress. Staying with DMK by accepting its offer will be a realistic and right decision”.
