Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.V. Thangkabalu indicated the possibility of “power sharing” between the two parties after the elections.
Talking to reporters at Sathyamurti Bhavan on Tuesday, he said the Congress–DMK combine has been winning since 2004 Lok Sabha elections and it would emerge victorious, with the support of allies, in this Assembly elections too.
“After the combine wins the elections, the DMK president and AICC president Sonia Gandhi will make a joint announcement. Spring will bloom for the Congress as per the expectations of the cadre,” he said, unwilling to disclose if the Congress has made power sharing a pre-condition for the alliance.
The Congress has been growing in the State. In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the party contested in 10 seats. In 2009, it contested in 16, including Puducherry. The party contested in 48 constituencies in the 2006 Assembly elections. “The Congress has retained its traditional seats where it has won and contested repeatedly,” he said. The party's five-member poll panel was able to convince the DMK leadership to allot seats in all the districts, except in Dharmapuri and Theni, he said, promising leaders in those two districts better opportunities in the local body polls after the Assembly elections.
Aspirants could file nominations on Wednesday and Thursday for contesting in the 63 constituencies allocated to the party . The TNCC's election wing would scrutinise the applications before handing them over to the high command, he said admitting that the time was short and decisions have to be taken quick to allow candidates hit the campaign trail as early as possible.
Reluctant to talk about the impact of 2G spectrum scam, the Opposition's trump card in the campaign, Mr. Thangkabalu said the Congress-DMK combine would focus on the achievements of the Centre and State.
