Sonia's call to Jaya may disconnect Congress-DMK ties

Chennai, May 16: DMK Patriarch M Karunanidhi, it seems is sulking at Congress President

to AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa. His party is also considering withdrawal of its ministers from the Union Cabinet and provide only external support to the Congress-led government.

According to reports, the top brass of DMK leadership including party-chief M Karunanidhi have held informal discussions for the last two days since May 14 and mulling over the option of providing outside support to Congress.

Reports also suggest that a section of the DMK leadership have called for restraint and pointed that the party now out of power in Tamil Nadu should not lose its strength in the Centre as well.

DMK has a total of six union ministers in the central cabinet.

According to a report by the Times of India, some senior DMK leaders have told Karunanidhi, "Until the next Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the party should focus on rebuilding its image and strengthening relations with political allies."

The daily also quoted a former DMK minister as saying, ''Thalaivar (leader) expressed reservations about Sonia's call to Jayalalithaa. We can understand his feelings. We didn't mind the Prime Minister calling the AIADMK leader. But the political implication of Sonia calling her is different. They have never shared a good relationship. We believe Congress is now opening doors to the AIADMK. In our opinion, they seem to be planning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections."

In the light of the current developments, it now becomes interesting to see if equations between the long-time allies Congress and DMK change at the first sign of losing power.

OneIndia News