Chennai
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, M Karunanidhi has said that the Congress would be among those invited for an alliance for the next Assembly elections slated in 2016.
Nearly three years after snapping ties with the Congress, Karunanidhi on Monday said that the national party would not be ignored in the process.
“We will not exclude Congress while inviting alliance parties (to join the DMK-led alliance),” the party chief said, much like it had reached out to Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK).
Incidentally in July this year, DMK treasurer M K Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president EVKS Elangovan had said that the two parties would ‘work together’ to protect the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu, in particular the oppressed.
DMK had in 2013 snapped ties with the Congress over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. However, the break was more pertinent considering the arrests of former Union minister A Raja and Karunanidhi’s daughter, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Earlier in 2011, despite differences over seat allocation, Congress contested the Assembly polls as part of the DMK-led combine and won five seats, but it registered a vote share of just 9.3%. Prior to that, it had garnered 37 seats in the 2006 polls. An alliance with the DMK would be a major boost for the Grand Old Party Congress considering its standing in 2011.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in 2011, despite differences over seat allocation, Congress contested the Assembly polls as part of the DMK-led combine and won five seats, but it registered a vote share of just 9.3%. Prior to that, it had garnered 37 seats in the 2006 polls. An alliance with the DMK would be a major boost for the Grand Old Party Congress considering its standing in 2011.
{{/usCountry}}With the harvest festival coming up next month, parties are also gearing up for a decision on the popular bull taming sport, Jallikattu. When asked, the DMK chief said, “I am confident that a formal announcement will be made very soon by a Central Minister.”
The Supreme Court had banned using bulls for the sport across the country and directed governments and Animal Welfare Board of India to prevent what it perceives as animal cruelty.