In the last Lok Sabha polls the Congress and the DMK drew a blank in the state.
Three years after the DMK walked out of the Congress-led Central government over what they had then called an "anti-Lankan Tamil" stand, the two parties have patched up to fight assembly elections together.
The nitty-gritty of power sharing, if any, would be worked out after elections now about three months away. The deal was sealed today by senior Congress Leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. "DMK is a trusted partner and we want them to win elections. Other things are minor," he said today meeting DMK chief M Karunanidhi.
In the last Lok Sabha polls the Congress and the DMK drew a blank in the state. Battling storms over multiple corruption scandals and flagging economic growth, the Congress was then was seen as a politically untouchable and was short of allies in the state.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik and EVKS Elangovan met DMK Chief M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai. (PTI photo)
Since former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran's tenure in the 80s there has been a change in guard in the state after every election. Though it would traditionally be the turn for the DMK to capture power, this time the opposition is fragmented, giving an arithmetic advantage to ruling AIADMK.
At least three alliances are fighting alone: the PMK, MNK and the BJP. There's a desperate bid to rope in actor Vijayakant's DMDK, which won 29 seats last time in alliance with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. DMK Treasurer M K Stalin said, "We have already invited Vijayakant. We would take this forward."
The AIADMK hopes corruption allegations against DMK leaders would help them win a second consecutive term. The DMK however is banking on the anti-incumbency and the ruling party's alleged apathy during recent floods would return them to power.