DMK-Congress Alliance Talks Hit A Cul-De-Sac

Chennai: Top level negotiations on finalizing the alliance between the DMK and Congress for the coming Assembly elections have hit a cul-de-sac due to the Congress insistence on getting a share in power if the coalition wins in Tamil Nadu and not accepting the DMK offer for 27 seats, a Rajya Sabha nomination and Chief Ministership in the neighbouring Union Territory of Puducherry.

Since the Congress raised its demand for more seats to contest from and ministerial berths through social media messages by its leaders - the latest one being the demand for allocation of Madurai North to them - and the veiled threat to switch loyalties to the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam through the Chairman of Professionals’ Congress Praveen Chakaravary, both the parties wanted to put an end to the acrimonious exchanges that ensued and arranged the meeting.

DMK MP and deputy general secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi drove down to meet top Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, at their home in New Delhi on Wednesday and explained the DMK’s position on the seat sharing dispute. Kanimozhi explained that the DMK would not be able to spare more than 27 seats – the Congress was allotted 25 seats, out of which it won 18 in 2021 – and ruled out the question of power sharing.

The Congress was, however, offered a Rajya Sabha nomination and the Chief Minister’s post in Puducherry that would also be going to polls along with Tamil Nadu. It is learnt that Congress leaders said that they wanted to nurture the party in Tamil Nadu and hence wanted more constituencies to expand their popularity and also power sharing.

While Kanimozhi is said to have assured the Congress to convey their demands to her party high command that would get back to them, the social media war continued with Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore, who was one of the Congress leaders who aggravated the situation, sharing a post of another Congress leader challenging the DMK by reproducing photographs of wall posters in Madurai the explicitly state that the Congress would field a candidate in Madurai North.

That demand made initially by Tagore had immediately attracted a backlash from the DMK with the sitting DMK MLA of Madurai North, G Thalapathy, hitting out at Congress MPs Tagore and Jothimani by pointing out that they won their elections only with the support of the DMK.

Now with the ball in Congress court – the DMK had made it clear that it could not give in to its demands the alliance hangs in balance with the TVK, considered to be the alternative choice, too putting pressure to come up with its final decision.

The DMK is also said to have expressed reservations over the manner in which AICC incharge for Tamil Nadu Girish Chodankar has been brusque with his statements against the DMK in the last few months. In fact, it was Chodankar who opened the Pandora's Box on the alliance by first demanding a substantial number of seats from the DMK with the claim that the Congress has grown in popularity.

While a section of the Congress leaders, including those like Praveen Chakravarty and Chodonkar, favour a tie-up with TVK, many other top leaders in the State were inclined to continue the alliance with the DMK. However the high command would take the final call.