Jayalalithaa

Chennai, Nov. 19: The southern alliance is showing signs of strain, two years before Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK is becoming increasingly suspicious about the prospects of the Congress tilting towards Jayalalithaa’s ADMK or actor Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) for the 2011 state polls.

Sources said the suspicion has its roots in three recent developments.

First, Congressmen in southern Tamil Nadu joined hands with the ADMK to scuttle the DMK’s attempt to name a bus station after the parents of chief minister M. Karunanidhi.

Instead the two parties demanded that the terminus be named after Congress leader K. Kamaraj. Deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin, a son of Karunanidhi, inaugurated the terminus but did not unveil the statue of his grandparents because of the negative public sentiment.

Second, former Union minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan of the Congress berated the DMK, threatening to launch an agitation on the spectrum scandal if the southern party protested against central environment minister Jairam Ramesh for his alleged pro-Kerala stand on the Mullaipeiryar dam.

Third, at the behest of Union home minister P. Chidambaram, BJP Rajya Sabha member and a former Union minister, S. Thirunavukarasar, was recently admitted to the Congress. Since Thirunavukarasar has considerable clout in southern Tamil Nadu, hailing from the powerful Thevar community, the DMK suspects that his induction is aimed at halting its recent electoral success in that part of the state thanks to the aggressive interventionist politics of Karunanidhi’s eldest son M.K. Azhagiri.

“Ever since Rahul Gandhi toured the state in September, there has been a new-found swagger in the way Congressmen have spoken and behaved. Barring a few MLAs, the majority is not even approaching us for favours or clearance of projects as in the past. We cannot blame them fully as they had got a raw deal from our leadership with no share in power,” said a senior DMK leader.

State Congress leaders readily admit that those who met Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi have been told to explore alternatives in the state.

“While state leaders such as G.K. Vasan and P. Chidambaram are presenting Vijayakanth’s DMDK as an alternative, seniors in Delhi like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel do not want to count the ADMK out as the alliance with Jayalalithaa’s party has worked very well in the past,” said a Congress MP.