TN early election nudge

Tamil Nadu may be headed to early elections.

Sources said Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi yesterday discussed the issue with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, forcefully arguing that an early election would benefit the ruling combine.

The Congress did not appear averse to the proposal but has told the DMK leader it would give its formal consent after a discussion in the party. The Assembly elections in the state are scheduled for May 2011 but the DMK wants it advanced to October this year. If that happens, Tamil Nadu will go to polls along with Bihar.

The DMK is at present dependent on the Congress for a simple majority in the House of 234. The DMK won 96 seats in the 2006 elections and the Congress 34. The ruling DMK-led coalition had 163 seats but the PMK later walked out to join the ADMK.

The sources said the PMK was willing to return to the DMK group. A proposal to nominate Anbumani Ramadoss to the Rajya Sabha was also discussed by the Congress and the DMK chiefs yesterday. But the nomination may not come through now as the PMK is yet to become an ally and its entry will depend on the success of seat-sharing talks.

Till then, the Congress and the DMK may give an assurance to the PMK that Ramadoss would be brought into the Rajya Sabha and given a ministerial berth at a later stage if it joined the coalition.

Another issue that came up was creation of a legislative council in Tamil Nadu. The Union cabinet tonight gave its approval to the proposal to revive the legislative council in the state, which was abolished in 1986. The bill for this may be brought in Parliament soon, probably in the current session itself.