Alliance talks between the TVK and NDA had all the makings of a grand bargain but unfolded in crossed wires. Armed with a ‘green signal’ to take on the ‘evil DMK’, the TVK arrived at the table asking for 90 seats and a two-and-a-half-year stint as CM, effectively a full banquet.
The NDA, however, offered what it saw as a decent platter: 25 to 40 seats and a Deputy CM post. The TVK refused to budge below 60 seats and a coalition promise, prompting an NDA leader to remark that even the original offer was ‘rather generous’ for a party with a high probability of receiving less than 12% of the vote in the upcoming polls.
Ally today, barbs tomorrow
The ruling DMK’s unease with the Congress appears to have spilled into the open. A senior DMK leader, who had earlier persuaded Left parties to scale down their seat demands, did little to conceal his irritation, taking a veiled swipe at the Congress’s perceived overconfidence. “Let us see how they win, and how many they actually win,” he remarked with a hint of sarcasm. The leader has also expressed his distress over the Congress appointing a national-level functionary, who is also known for his criticism of the DMK, to oversee candidate selection in Tamil Nadu, terming the move as going a bit overboard.