In a move to prevent the PMK from straying back into the Jayalalithaa camp, DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Sunday announced that his party high-level committee had decided to admit the PMK into the DMK-led alliance, accepting the plea made by its leader S. Ramadoss in two letters he recently received from him.
However, the PMK chief’s request for a Rajya Sabha seat for his party — read his son Anbumani Ramadoss — in the coming biennial election was not conceded.
The PMK will get an RS seat in the 2012 poll, Mr Karunanidhi told reporters while briefing them about decisions made at the party high-level committee deliberations which lasted for about two hours at the DMK’s Anna Arivalayam headquarters here.
He said the DMK would field Salem strongman T.M. Selvaganapathy, agriculture wing secretary K.P. Ramalingam and Nellai dalit leader S. Thangavel as its RS candidates.
This would mean that the Congress could have only one seat from the four that the UPA can win in the state in the June 17 poll.
There are at least four strong claimants in the Congress for that one seat: former Union minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan, PCC president K.V. Thangkabalu, Sudarshanam Nachiappan (whose RS seat falls vacant now) and former BJP minister S. Thirunavukarasar.
In the rival camp, the AIADMK is contesting both the seats that the alliance can hope to win, with support from allies MDMK and Left.
The DMK and the PMK had parted ways in March 2009.