In Puducherry, major parties yet to decide on tie-ups

DMK and Congress are the only major parties to have firmed up an alliance.

Officials check electronic voting machines in Puducherry that goes to the polls on May 16.— PHOTO: T. Singaravelou

Though the Assembly elections are fast approaching, Puducherry presents an unclear picture with many of the major political parties yet to decide on tie-ups or evolve their strategies.

Though expectations ran high that the ruling All India NR Congress (AINRC) would reveal its alliance strategy, the party president and Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, remains tight-lipped.

Though the AINRC is part of the BJP-led NDA alliance, Mr. Rangasamy remains non-committal on the BJP’s declaration of intent to continue the alliance for the Assembly polls.

The Chief Minister’s reticence has fuelled speculation that he might go it alone.

Ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls last year, Mr. Rangasamy faced a revolt by five AINRC MLAs.

Ties with AIADMK

The crisis culminated in an opportunistic revival of ties with the AIADMK, which had been functioning as AINRC’s archrival ever since Mr. Rangasamy reneged on his promise to share power when the two parties allied to win the elections in 2011.

The AINRC managed a deal under which its nominee N. Gokula Krishnan was fielded as the AIADMK’s candidate for the sole RS seat.

Despite this collaboration for RS poll, though the deal was seen as a forerunner to a broadening of ties, neither the AIADMK nor the AINRC seemed keen on revival of their alliance.

The AIADMK has been busy strengthening its roots in Puducherry with the induction of former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament P. Kannan into its fold.

However, it remains to be seen whether the AIADMK would retain the alliance with the AINRC or go it alone.

Seat-sharing hitch Although the DMK and the Congress are the only parties to have firmed up an alliance in Puducherry (as a natural extension of their pact in Tamil Nadu), talks on seat-sharing between the two parties have failed to make any headway.

Both parties command pockets of influence in some constituencies in Puducherry and Karaikal and are staking claim for the same seats.

Setback for DMK Meanwhile, in a setback for the DMK that was hoping to lure disgruntled AINRC functionary N.R. Balan into its fold, he moved over to the Congress. The DMK had planned to field Mr. Balan, the son-in-law of former Chief Minister R.V. Janakiraman, from Oulgaret.

Mr. Balan’s decision has irked the DMK which is already having seat allocation issues with the Congress.

The People’s Welfare Front (PWF) comprising the Left parties, the MDMK, the CPI and the RSP is perhaps the only outfit which has come out with a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) even before the poll schedule was announced.