The Hindu : DMK team calls on Sonia

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

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DMK team calls on Sonia

By Our Special Correspondent

The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, addressing mediapersons after a meeting with DMK leaders at her residence in New Delhi on Saturday. Others in the photograph are (from left) T.R. Baalu, former Union Minister, Manmohan Singh, senior Congress leader, Dayanidhi Maran, son of the late Murasoli Maran, and M.K. Stalin, DMK deputy general secretary. — Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, JAN.17. The Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) today carried forward the agreement to have an alliance in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha elections with a three-member DMK team led by its deputy general secretary, M.K. Stalin, holding discussions with the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, here.

"We have held preliminary talks... on the [political] situation in the State vis-à-vis the alliance, and general discussions," Ms. Gandhi told correspondents at the end of an hour-long meeting with the DMK team which included the former Union Minister, T.R. Baalu, and Dayanidhi Maran, son of the late Murasoli Maran. The senior Congress leader, Manmohan Singh, who had visited Chennai for the agreement, was also present.

Ms. Gandhi said that on the basis of the current discussions she would consult her colleagues while the DMK representatives would do so with their leader.

Both parties had agreed to hold another meeting in the next two-three days, the venue of which would be fixed in due course.

That a broad understanding emerged at today's discussions was indicated by Ms. Gandhi who, in a response to a question, said: "It is only going to be a forward movement." She reiterated her keenness to meet the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, at the earliest opportunity. Later, Mr. Stalin said that Ms. Gandhi expressed her desire to meet the DMK chief and the date of the visit to Chennai would be conveyed shortly.

Mr. Stalin said that he had come to Delhi for further discussions and briefed the Congress about the situation in Tamil Nadu, the steps needed for the elections and to strengthen the alliance. Neither the issue of seat-sharing nor a common minimum programme figured in the talks.

The two sides looked at options, the permutations and combinations, Dr. Singh said. Asked whether they went into seat-specific analysis of strengths and weaknesses, he said: "The issue is all about seat adjustments."

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