Karunanidhi's visit to Delhi to cement ties with Congress

With the poll heat picking up in Tamil Nadu, chief minister M Karunanidhi's three-day Delhi visit, during which he will meet AICC president Sonia Gandhi, has gained significance. The meeting will kick off alliance talks and cement the Congress-DMK ties ahead of a tough assembly election. During his meeting with Sonia, Karunanidhi is likely to identify the panel of DMK leaders that will negotiate with the Congress for seats.


"The leaders may not discuss numbers and constituencies. But the meeting between the two will generate goodwill and send a clear signal to cadres and allies to be more accommodative and work together," said a senior Congress leader. "It is more important to strengthen the alliance by adding partners. We should keep this in mind when we demand seats. Naturally, we expect to be the second seniormost partner in the alliance," he said.

The Congress and the DMK are keen to rope in the PMK, the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KNMK) and some minority and caste groups. While the PMK is demanding at least 30 seats, the KNMK, with its growing clout in the western belt, is keen on contesting at least 15 seats.

With the Congress deciding to stick with the DMK despite AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa's offer of support in the wake of the spectrum scam, battlelines have been clearly drawn in the state. Two main fronts, one led by the DMK and the other by the AIADMK, will slug it out in what political observers believe could be an evenly poised poll b [...]