Chennai:
After their dramatic reconciliation in Delhi, the DMK and Congress have signed an agreement in Chennai that formalises their alliance for the Tamil Nadu elections, scheduled for April 13.
The Congress, as announced in Delhi last night after days of bitter negotiation, will contest 63 of the 234 assembly seats. Both parties will meet tomorrow to decide which constituencies will be assigned to the Congress.
The Congress has also made it clear that if the alliance is successful, it would like a share in power. Currently, the DMK government is provided external support by the Congress.
The battle over seats erupted with volcanic ferocity over the weekend with the DMK announcing that it would pull out of the Union Government if the Congress insisted on any more than 60 seats. The DMK has six ministers and 18 MPs, making it a crucial part of the central government. However, Congress President Sonia Gandhi refused to surrender to the DMK's blackmail, and said it was 63 seats or nothing at all. The DMK said its ministers would resign on Monday but they didn't follow through on their threat. A series of meetings followed with Pranab Mukherjee mediating on behalf of the Congress with Dayanidhi Maran and MK Alagiri of the DMK.
Last evening, DMK leaders met Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi, officially ending the separation.
"If DMK gets a second term, we would automatically form part of their government," said the Congress' K V Thangkabalu, who heads the party's unit in Tamil Nadu.