CHENNAI/MADURAI: As the prolonged informal talks it held with the ruling AIADMK, which were expected to culminate in a formal announcement on Thursday, ended abruptly, the beleaguered Tamil Maanila Congress is looking to get under the DMDK-PWA umbrella, said sources in both camps.
TMC leader GK Vasan is likely to call on the de facto leader of the Third Front, DMDK founder-leader Vijayakant on Friday afternoon, sources said, adding that the matter figured at the seat-sharing exercise between the five alliance partners on Thursday.
Senior leaders in the Congress splinter group confirmed to Express that the hitch indeed was about the symbol on which it would contest. As a nascent party trying to find its foothold in an already crowded political space, the TMC was keen to contest on its newly-announced symbol, Coconut Farm, which is important both symbolically and technically as per election commission rules. “Till last evening, we were expecting that the issue of symbol can be resolved amicably. But the AIADMK insisted on us contesting on their symbol, ‘Two Leaves’, as the party wanted candidates to contest on their symbol in all constituencies. But it will not be possible for us for it would be tantamount to merging our party with the AIADMK. If we accept this, it will affect the party’s growth as well as our position in the elections in the coming years. We will finalise our next move soon,” said a senior leader.
Vasan has been holding talks with the AIADMK through some channels, on terms that are known only to him. “But our functionaries are in unison with our leader,” he added. With the DMK shutting its doors, apparently after strong pressures from the Congress high command despite an attempt by the TMC to reach out to Karunanidhi a week ago, Vasan has only limited options other than joining the DMDK-PWA coalition.
“We have been in touch with the TMC for quite some time. They are yet to reach out to us after the developments on Thursday, but our invitation to the TMC to join us still holds good,” said a key leader of a PWA constituent. Sources in the TMC said Vasan is likely to call on Vijayakant on Friday afternoon, while second-rung leaders of the party are already discussing how many seats it could possibly get from the Third Front.
A leader from the southern districts told Express that they are expecting a minimum of 25-30 seats, of which the DMDK would allocate 15 from its share of 124 seats, while the four-party PWA would share the rest from its kitty of 110. Entering a tightly-contested seat-sharing negotiations, this may be easier said than done. “In the event of the TMC coming on board, seats for them would be allocated only from the share of the DMDK and not from the PWA quota,” insisted the PWA leader.
Trouble With Coconut Farm
Senior Tamil Maanila Congress leaders told Express that the hitch with the AIADMK was about the symbol on which it would contest. As a nascent party trying to find its foothold in an already crowded political space, the TMC was keen to contest on its newly-announced symbol – Coconut Farm.
Question Now Shifts to Seat-sharing
With Vasan expected to call on Vijayakant, focus has shifted to seat-sharing in the Front. “Seats for TMC would be allocated only from DMDK share and not from PWA quota,” said a PWA leader.