THE CONGRESS IN ITS LABYRINTH

On January 25, as former Cong­ress president Rahul Gandhi returned to Delhi at the end of a three­day visit to Tamil Nadu (the second in 10 days), the prospects of his party’s alliance with the DMK for the upcoming assembly poll remained uncertain. What caused the ripple was DMK leader and Arakkonam MP S. Jag­athrakshakan’s assertion that his party would lead the alliance in neighboring Puducherry—where a Congress minis­ try steered by V. Narayanaswamy is in office—in the summer polls to the 30­seat Puducherry assembly. Meanwhile, DMK leaders were not invited to Rahul’s meet­ ings (all in the western part of Tamil Nadu), and he campaigned without can­ passing for the coalition.

- Amarnath K. Menon

While many in the state Congress seemed certain that the Secular Progre­ssive Alliance (SPA) will not hold, Rahul put doubts to rest as he told journalists at Aravakurichi in Karur district that the DMK­Congress alliance would continue, and that his party had accepted DMK president M.K. Stalin as their chief ministerial candidate. The latter two went on record on January 30, say­ ing the alliance was on firm ground in Tamil Nadu, though he was quite evasive on how it would all work out in Puducherry.

It’s early days but both Stalin and the chief ministerial candidate of the ruling AIADMK, incumbent Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), have hinted during electioneering that their respective alliances may have to accommodate more parties than last time, implying fewer seats for the main allies (the Congress and the Left for the DMK and the BJP for the AIADMK). Both the Dravidian majors foresee a tough battle ahead and are keen to play to their strengths and secure a majority on their own in this first election after the passing of leaders M. Karunanidhi (DMK) and J. Jayalalithaa (AIADMK).