Congress plays hardball after DMK pulls out

The Congress played hardball with the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) after seat sharing talks between the two broke down on Saturday ahead of Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu on April 13.

A day after they announced their decision to withdraw from the UPA government, the DMK waited but there was no word from the Congress party. Far from a panic reaction, there was not even a reaction to the DMK's decision from the national capital. And frustrated by the lack of reaction from the Congress, the DMK may now have to give up power at the Centre and execute its alliance breaking announcement
The difference was over three seats and the choice of seats and the two allies seemed to believe that its good enough to break the seven-year-old alliance. The Congress which lost to the DMK in 1967 and never regained power, now seems to be very actively pursuing the option of going it alone.
And the force behind that option seems to be Rahul Gandhi who despite the Bihar experience seems to be willing to take the risk in Dravidian land.
Congress sources said the party is not in a hurry to speak to the DMK as it withdrew its ministers from the Union Cabinet and decided to give issue-based support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government while the seat-sharing talks were still on. Congress wants the alliance to continue but is not willing to come under any pressure.
The investigation into the 2G spectrum scam and DMK leader A Raja's exit as telecom minister had put a strain on alliance which was aggravated by the raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on DMK-owned Kalaignar TV. Both these incidents were seen as personal attack on the Karunanidhi family by the DMK.
However, the Congress is also not willing to intervene into the 2G investigations as it is under the direct monitoring of the Supreme Court.
The DMK says all its six ministers in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet will submit their resignations by Monday.
"Nobody from the Congress has got in touch with us. Our ministers are going to Delhi on Monday to submit their resignations to the Prime Minister," Baalu said earlier on Sunday.
Congress sources also pointed out that the party did not have problems only with the number of seats being offered by the DMK but also the fact that most of the seats being offered were not winnable.
Time is running out for a compromise between the two allies and all indications are that the DMK may have to execute its resolution and give up power at the Centre. It's a huge gamble for both the sides and if the Congress goes alone, it will alter political equations in Tamil Nadu. What this would actually result in would be known only on May 13.