New Delhi:
The 2G corruption row was "not a factor" in the Tamil Nadu polls, says DMK leader TKS Elangovan, adding the Congress would not embrace the AIADMK after Jayalalithaa's party was sworn into power on Monday.
"It was not a factor or (even) a minor factor," Elangovan, said the DMK spokesman answering to whether the 2G spectrum scandal played a role in the DMK's crushing defeat in the state assembly elections.
A veteran of Tamil Nadu politics, Elangovan said he had no clue why the DMK was trounced so badly in the polls.
"It is difficult to find out the reasons. I don't know why it happened. People need a performing government and we performed well. All sections (of the society) benefited while people had suffered a lot during the (earlier) governments led by Jayalalithaa," he said.
The AIADMK-led coalition's sweeping win has led to speculation about new political alignments.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already called up Jayalalithaa to congratulate her.
Asked about a possible realignment of forces in Tamil Nadu, Elangovan expressed confidence that the Congress would not go with the AIADMK.
"I don't think the Congress will prefer the AIADMK. She (Jayalalithaa) is the most unreliable ally," he said.
Asked if the party was feeling let down by the Congress, whose ally the DMK is at the centre, Elangovan said the polls were for the state assembly and not for parliament.
Former Union Communications Minister A Raja of the DMK is in jail in connection with the scam. DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi, has been named an accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"Even in Raja's Lok Sabha constituency of Nilgiris, we won two of the four assembly seats. (2G) was not a reason. Beyond that what happened, we will find out," he said.
He also said that corruption was not an issue in the Tamil Nadu elecltion as Jayalalithaa had herself faced corruption cases.
Elangovan evaded a direct reply when asked if the poll outcome would make it difficult to herald a generational change in the DMK's top echelons.
"That is a different question. We will see," he said, adding the party would not let Karunanidhi retire.
He said DMK cadres were upset with the election result but not demoralised.
"The results were surprising even for the people of Tamil Nadu."
Elangovan said DMK will call a meeting of its candidates to know their feedback on "how we failed".
He said the party expected to win 75-80 seats and its alliance to win about 140 seats. DMK could win only 23 of the 119 seats it contested while its ally Congress got five seats and the PMK three.
The AIADMK alliance swept the polls, winning 203 of 234 assembly seats.