JOIN USPutting aside their past acrimony, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress entered into a poll pact on Friday for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
A decision in this regard was taken after former Union minister and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad met DMK president M Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence here.
Describing the DMK as “the most dependable partner,” Azad said: “The DMK and the Congress will form a formidable alliance in Tamil Nadu elections. We will be fighting elections together...Our main goal is to form the government in Tamil Nadu under Karunanidhi.”
The senior Congressman, who was accompanied by his party colleague Mukul Wasnik, also indicated that there would more allies to the DMK-Congress combination, which is back after a gap of three years.
On how the DMK is getting back with the Congress despite the Sri Lankan-Tamil’s issue, Azad said that there were “compulsions and pressures” in politics. “ The two parties have won elections together in past also,” he pointed out. Though Azad and DMK treasurer M K Stalin were tight-lipped about the seat sharing arrangement, sources in the Congress said that it had asked a minimum of 40 seats.
In the 2011 polls, the DMK allocated 63 seats to it’s ally. In 2006, it was 48 seats. Sources in the Congress told Deccan Herald that the party has already selected the constituencies for which candidates will be selected soon.