Congressmen in Tamil Nadu were taken aback when “trusted” ally M. Karunanidhi announced that his DMK will participate in the Opposition-sponsored bandh. The Dravidian stalwart took the decision mainly for two reasons: to demonstrate to the Congress bosses that he and his party are still a force to be reckoned with in Tamil Nadu and so he should not be taken for granted; and secondly, he has been upset ever since daughter Kanimozhi was locked up in Tihar with regard to the 2G scam and the UPA government looked the other way.
DMK sources say thalaivar has decided to “ditch” the Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and is actively wooing filmstar Vijayakanth to team up with him. They insist his arithmetic is a sure winner, DMK plus DMDK of Vijayakanth together with the Left parties and the dalit VCK to take on the ruling AIADMK and an isolated Congress. The PMK is not being taken seriously by either the DMK or the AIADMK, as of now.
The DMK chief is, however, unable to take the plunge like Trinamul Congress’ Mamata Banerjee since son Alagiri is holding a position in the UPA Cabinet.
“Most of the party functionaries want to terminate ties with the Congress while readying for the next Lok Sabha elections. Only Mr Alagiri wants the alliance to continue, at least for now,” said a DMK functionary requesting anonymity.
The Madurai strongman has been having serious problems even within the party as his younger brother and political heir-in-waiting, Mr Stalin, is consolidating his hold over the district secretaries even in Mr Alagiri’s turf down south. There are indications that the DMK leadership is anxiously waiting to see if any sour surprises happen when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh effects his much-awaited reshuffle. “Thalaivar has already told the Congress leaders that he does not want any more berths during the reshuffle. He has decided to let go the vacancies caused by the exit of Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja. This is a clear indicator of this alliance breaking”, said a DMK leader.