TMC out, Congress haggling with DMK

DTNext has reliably learnt that Vasan’s request to join the alliance was declined by Karunanidhi who feared that the Congress High Command might be annoyed by the newfound bonhomie between his party and TMC. 

“Stalin was indeed keen on accommodating TMC and hence he had hosted Vasan, but Karunanidhi felt that it might annoy Congress leaders in Delhi,” a DMK leader requesting anonymity said. 

Unsurprisingly, the state Congress would also be seriously mistaken if they assume that ousting TMC would give them elbow room to extract more seats from DMK. “Even matching 2011 tally (Congress was given 18% seats by DMK in local body election then) in the coming local body election is impossible. Our high command will not be generous yet again,” a DMK senior remarked. 

That the DMK has asked Congress to discuss seat identification with its district secretaries and suggested the number of seats bear testimony to the frugal mind set of the Dravidian party this poll season. 

“Every extra seat given to a faction-ridden Congress would be pocketed by the AIADMK. Wherever their prospects are bright (like Kanyakumari), we will give a few seats. Elsewhere, they have to be content with working for us,” a senior party leader said. 

TNCC president S Thirunavukkarasar’ s reiteration on Tuesday that they are talking with DMK district secretaries, and that too a day after rival AIADMK had released its candidates list for corporation wards, also manifests their deadlocked talks. 

Conversely, the only factor Congress could take comfort in now is that DMK has put to bed speculations about it accommodating Vasan and also releasing its first list of candidates on Wednesday morning.