Writing146;s on the wall: Cong sends Karunanidhi not-so-subtle feelers

The Congress has a dream and it8217;s on posters near the Gopalapuram residence of DMK president Muthuvel Karunanidhi. Posters, pasted stra...

The Congress has a dream and it8217;s on posters near the Gopalapuram residence of DMK president Muthuvel Karunanidhi. Posters, pasted strategically so that the DMK chief would not miss them, urge him to 8216;8216;fulfill8217;8217; the Congressmen8217;s desire for a coalition government in the state.

The posters, in Tamil, said Congress leaders had handed over a petition to 8216;Annai Mother8217; Sonia Gandhi, the AICC president, informing her that partymen in the state were 8216;8216;waiting with hope8217;8217; for the DMK to 8216;8216;fulfill their desire8217;8217; for a coalition government in Tamil Nadu. The posters appeared a day after the DMK leader, who heads a rainbow alliance of some influential parties, declared he was prepared to make sacrifices and urged his allies to do the same 8216;8216;for the sake of unity8217;8217; and a 8216;8216;common objective8217;8217; of unseating their enemy, Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo, J Jayalalithaa.

The Congress, which has been out of power in the state since 1967, has been riding piggyback ever since on one or the other of the Dravidian majors, the AIADMK or DMK, for both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. However, Tamil Nadu has never seen a coalition government.

However, Karunanidhi has already ruled out a coalition government in the state. With ambitions to see his son take over from him, Karunanidhi would only ensure M K Stalin8217;s smooth succession8212;from being the DMK8217;s crown prince to Tamil Nadu8217;s Chief Minister. For this, it is imperative for him to keep the alliance intact.

At an alliance meeting on Wednesday, Karunanidhi made it clear that his party would contest at least 140 of the 234 seats if it wanted to get a clear majority of its own. This leaves 94 for DMK8217;s allies, including the Congress, the PMK, MDMK, the two Left parties and the state Muslim League. 8216;8216;Only if all parties are prepared for some sacrifice, can the arrogant ruler in Tamil Nadu be defeated,8217;8217; Karunanidhi told his allies. He also announced February 15 as the deadline for his partners to submit their wishlist including the number of seats they wished to contest and the choice of constituencies.