Congress gets snubbing from M Karunanidhi
DMK has kept an already thinned out Congress at more than arms length.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-12-29 06:25 GMT
Chennai: DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Monday rubbed salt into the wounds of the Congress by stating that they would not spurn the national party away. When asked if he would invite Congress to join the DMK alliance, as he did to the DMDK, Karunanidhi said, “We will not spurn the Congress away when we invite alliance parties.” The loaded statement packed with the pun unique only to Karunanidhi is an indication that the DMK is in no mood to play ball with the Congress that snatched away 63 seats from it in 2011.
Knowing fully well that an out-of-power Congress is not much use to advance its interests, the DMK has kept an already thinned out Congress at more than arms length. “A split and unpopular Congress is only an extra baggage,” is the most popular opinion in DMK circles. “Our main objective is to get the DMDK on board. It will require a very tough and shrewd negotiation. Congress is our least concern. Isolated, the Congress party will settle for the lowest double digit (seats) this time,” a DMK senior requesting anonymity remarked, adding that they would do well to even go without Congress if they just get Vijayakanth on board. Even Congress insiders, who were not surprised by the DMK snub, admitted that the DMK had indicated its disinterest in Congress long back.
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