Cong. relenting on PMK

By Suresh Nambath

CHENNAI, MARCH 22. In a reversal of its declared opposition to any alliance in which the PMK is a major player, the Congress is negotiating with the AIADMK and the TMC to form a PMK-inclusive united secular front in Pondicherry.

Effectively dumping the electorally disadvantageous proposal to ``delink'' Pondicherry from Tamil Nadu in political alignments for the coming Assembly polls, the Congress is now bargaining for ``the largest share'' of the seats from the AIADMK-PMK combine.

As attempts to persuade the PMK to give up its claim to the first turn of chief ministership in Pondicherry have failed, the Congress appears to have put off until after the election the crucial issue of government formation in the event of the alliance winning a majority.

While sticking to the position that it would not share power with the pro-LTTE PMK, the Congress is reconciled to the seat-sharing and power-sharing agreement between the AIADMK and the PMK. The AIADMK general secretary, Ms. Jayalaitha, is reported to have told the PMK founder, Dr. S. Ramadoss, the change in the Congress attitude was a ``great victory for you.''

Although the Congress is not binding itself to the AIADMK-PMK agreement, the party seems to have placed itself in a situation where it would have to deal with a numerically strong PMK in the next Pondicherry Assembly.

Apart from obtaining the support of the AIADMK to its claim to the first turn of chief ministership, the PMK also got 10 of the 30 seats in Pondicherry in the alliance agreement with Ms. Jayalalitha.

As the possibility of the Congress being part of its front in Pondicherry brightened, the PMK began pressuring the AIADMK not to part with more than 12 seats to the Congress-TMC combine.

The PMK wants the AIADMK to contest at least eight seats as that would give the two parties the majority share of the 30 seats. Evidently, the PMK wants to ensure that there is no threat to its claim for the first turn of chief ministership.

If the Congress and the TMC obtain 15 seats for themselves, the PMK fears that in the post-election scenario they would not back it for the chief ministership.

Even if the Congress and the PMK come to an understanding on seat-sharing with the help of the TMC and the AIADMK, there still remains the problem of how they would project their claims to the chief ministership in the campaign. While for the PMK, the chief ministership would be the focus of the campaign, the Congress would like this to be played down and worked out after the election.

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