Cong leaders to join DMK trail this week 

Chidambaram will address a rally at Karumathampatty near Coimbatore in support of Sulur candidate and former minister Pongalur N Palanisamy on May 9. The state Congress on Monday released the tour itinerary of the former union finance minister and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president KS Alagiri. As per the itinerary, Chidambaram will muster support for DMK candidate Senthil Balaji at Aravakurichi on May 10. Going by the tour schedule released by the TNCC, Alagiri would also accompany Chidambaram during both rallies.

Chidambaram and Alagiri join immediate past president of TNCC Su Thirunavukkarasar, who had announced his campaign for the Assembly bypoll earlier. The announcement has put to bed speculation about the Congress leaders abstaining from the poll campaign and that too after an unhappy Premalatha Vijayakant had made public her decision to seek votes for AIADMK candidates in the four-constituency Assembly bypoll. Curiously, a couple of other former TNCC presidents are yet to hit the campaign trail in support of their ally DMK, which was content with its president MK Stalin doing the campaigning job for them. MDMK general secretary Vaiko would join his DMK and Congress friends on the trail from May 8 when he would launch his campaign from Tiruparankundram. VCK leader Thol Tirumavalavan, who had kept low during the Lok Sabha polls and senior state Left leaders have not revealed their plans thus far.