Despite having made overtures to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Pattali Makkal Katchi remains unsure of its place in the DMK-led alliance.
With the DMK president and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi apprising the party general council of the Congress' reservations over the inclusion of the PMK in the alliance, PMK leaders have been left wondering whether this is an effort to drive a hard bargain in the seat negotiations or an attempt to keep the party out of the alliance. A senior PMK leader says that Mr. Karunanidhi could have avoided referring to the reservations of the national party.
The DMK leader, according to some DMK members, told them that when he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi early this week, she had conveyed her displeasure to him on the inclusion of the PMK. This was because the PMK was a constituent of the United Progressive Alliance government for almost five years and it switched over to the rival camp weeks before the 2009 Lok Sabha election. She had told him that even rivals could be condoned but not traitors, the members said, quoting Mr. Karunanidhi.
According to the senior PMK leader, the party wants to be in the DMK-led alliance, but “not at the cost of self-respect.” Some in the party view Ms. Gandhi's remarks and Mr. Karunanidhi's retelling of the remarks at the general council as part of attempts by the two leaders to strengthen the position of their respective parties in the seat negotiations.
While the DMK can limit allocation for the Congress citing the need for accommodating the PMK, the Congress can demand higher number of seats if the PMK is not part of the alliance.
The DMK can also use the reservations expressed by Ms. Gandhi to limit the PMK's demand for more seats.
On including the PMK again in the alliance, one section of the DMK feels that the presence of the PMK in the alliance would be complementary for the alliance, especially in the northern belt of the State, as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, which has some following, is another constituent.
However, another section is of the view that even without the PMK, the alliance had won resoundingly in the 2009 Lok Sabha election in those constituencies where the PMK was considered an important factor. The PMK, which contested seven seats, could not win a single seat then.
A senior DMK leader says that his party has to take along the Congress on this issue, as the tie-up between the two has been firmed up and the national party is the second largest constituent of the alliance.
