The Congress won the first round against ally DMK by exacting three more seats from it. The second round will be on sharing power if the DMK-led front retains power in next month’s Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The DMK’s pressure tactics, including its threat to pull out six ministers from the Cabinet, flopped. Congress crisis managers resolved the “crisis” while remaining in New Delhi and compelled the DMK to fall in line. This is also seen as a message to its other allies in the UPA.
But it was not clear whether there had been any agreement between the two parties on conceding the Congress demand for its choice of constituencies and power-sharing after the elections. The DMK chose the wrong time to check the Congress’ demand for more seats despite the latter being a minor player in Tamil Nadu, a state dominated by Dravidian politics, as the Karunanidhi-led party, on the defensive on the 2G spectrum scam, also faces the incumbency factor.
According to sources, a division in the DMK-led front would have meant “advantage AIADMK”. In that situation, the DMK would have been cornered in the state, becoming irrelevant at the Centre. But the Congress will have nothing to lose irrespective of the poll outcome.
The picture became clear on Monday itself when the DMK deferred its decision to quit the Union Cabinet. Its two Union ministers — Dayanidhi Maran and M.K. Alagiri — met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday night after a series of meetings with Congress crisis managers. On Tuesday, the DMK blinked first, conceding 63 seats for the Congress and ending three days of political drama.
The leaderships of the DMK and Congress have finally decided on the number of seats and the Congress will contest 63 seats, Union minister and AICC general secretary in charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu Ghulam Nabi Azad announced outside Mrs Gandhi’s residence.
The Congress’ demand of 63 seats is an increase of 15 over the number it got in the 2006 Assembly elections. DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi was against giving three seats and had announced he would pull the party out of the UPA government on Saturday. But on Tuesday evening the deal was announced after Mr Dayanidhi Maran held two rounds of talks with the Congress’ chief strategist, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, at Parliament House during which Mr Azad and the Congress president’s political secretary, Mr Ahmed Patel, were also present.
From the meeting a beaming Mr Maran, accompanied by Mr M.K. Alagiri and the Congress’ crisis managers, drove to Mrs Gandhi’s residence to thank her for the deal on behalf of the DMK leadership and jointly announced the decision after that at 10, Janpath. They also informed Mr Karunanidhi about the development.
Mr Azad said the Congress and DMK “unanimously” came to the conclusion that the Congress would contest 63 seats. “This alliance will work together and campaign together and ensure that the alliance will be back in power, like after the last elections,” he said, claiming that it was a “winning alliance”.
“We have other partners also — PMK, VCK, Kongu Party and All-India Muslim League. All these parties will work together,” he said. Asked about the formula of the deal with the Congress, Mr Alagiri said, “It is a winning formula.” “This is the expectation of the cadre — that there should be an amicable settlement,” he said when asked whether the credit for clinching the deal should go to him and Mr Maran.
“The DMK coalition has given 63 seats to the Congress. Sonia Gandhi has okayed it...,” he said, adding the DMK chief would decide how the Congress would be given three more seats. He, however, declined to specify the details. The talk is that one seat each will be given to the Congress from the quota of the PMK, VCK and IUML.
Asked whether the DMK cadres will work for the Congress during the polls in view of the recent bitterness, Mr Alagiri said, “Definitely. The entire cadre will work for the coalition and we will come back to power.”