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Alliance with Cong intact, says DMK
DMK president and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday said that his party would contest the local body elections next month on its own. He, however, reiterated that the party has not snapped its ties with the Congress.
DMK president and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday said that his party would contest the local body elections next month on its own. He, however, reiterated that the party has not snapped its ties with the Congress.
“We will form alliances only for Lok Sabha and assembly elections and contest local body elections on our own,” Karunanidhi told mediapersons at the party headquarters here.
Sources in the DMK told HT that the party wants to avoid the repetition of fighting over seats. During the April assembly elections, the Congress had bargained hard to wrest 63 seats from the DMK, but managed to win only five of them.
Party members believe the “surrender to the Congress during the assembly polls cost the DMK dear”.
Karunanidhi said there was no need to place political principles in front of the public during the local bodies polls, which was concerned with basic requirements of the people.
“We are confident of facing the elections on our own,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state unit of the Congress has called a meeting on Friday to discuss the latest development and the strategy to fight the civic polls.
The meeting will be chaired by state Congress chief KV Thangkabalu. The party MPs, members of the Tamil Nadu assembly and other leaders have been invited.
State Youth Congress leader M Yuvaraj said: “This is a good opportunity for the party to build itself at the grassroots level in the state. The youth wing will play its part in that.”
