Sonia's tea party politics; Jaya eyes the bigger picture

Chennai, May 15: Tamil Nadu gave its verdict in the Assembly Polls 2011, and Jayalalithaa is having the last laugh and has already staked her claim with the Governor to form a government. She has been elected the leader of AIADMK Legislature Party on Sunday. But in a surprise new move a timely invite for a tea party from the Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, was the point of discussion across media houses.

After careful pondering, Jaya accepted the invite, but was her eyes on the larger game plan ahead? Will the tea party lead to a fatal blow to the dwindling popularity of the DMK in the state and sound the death knell for the octogenarian-led DMK and lead to a permanent sunset for the DMK's rising sun. With Congress still smarting under the 2G blow and having to face the music for its association with the DMK, this invite comes at a time when the Congress wants to wash the muck of the largest telecom scam off its hands. A disassociation with the DMK will be the Congress' last ditch effort to save its face.

Jayalalithaa too has plenty to gain from the possible alliance with the Congress. Beside implementing tangible welfare schemes to the citizens that is possible from funds from the Centre, the coalition could also be used to break the clout of upcoming star Captain Vijayakanth and his MDMK. With number crunching still playing a major part in electoral politics, Jayalaithaa wants to position herself so that she retains the upper hand in TN without the support of allies.

The other casualty if the AIADMK-Congress alliance pulls through will be the Left. After getting a beating in this years election, the Left will be forced to make its way out from the alliance. They would have to seek recourse either with the forcefully-humbled DMK or join forces with the man of the moment Vijayakanth.

After she openly defied the support of allies prior to the elections and sought to face the elections all by herself, what transpires within the closed doors of 10, Janpath when the two women meet still remains to be seen. But the fact that upholds is that the Congress needs the AIADMK more than the other way round.

OneIndia News