Chennai: Nearly two years after they parted ways, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Sunday decided to revive its ties with the PMK, but refused to allot a seat to the party in the forthcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
Announcing the decision to re-admit PMK in the DMK-led
Democratic Progressive Alliance, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi
said the decision was taken on the basis of letters PMK chief
S Ramadoss wrote to him.
"Our intentions of re-admitting PMK into the alliance
are well-founded," he told reporters after a meeting of DMK`s
high-level committee, which took the decision.
"We have taken the decision on the basis of letters
written by PMK founder Ramadoss, who wanted the alliance to be
revived," he said. The decision was taken in good intention.
"I hope they (PMK) will accept it," he said
But, the PMK may not be fully satisfied with the DMK`s
decision as the Karunanidhi-led party refused to allot a Rajya
Sabha seat to PMK.
The tenure of Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Health
Minister Anbumani Ramadoss ends next month and the PMK had
sought DMK`s support to get him re-elected.
Biennial elections to six Rajya Sabha seats in Tamil
Nadu will be held in June.
"Let bygones be bygones. At least let the future be
good," a resolution adopted at the meeting said.
The resolution said the party decided to revive the
ties after PMK founder S Ramadoss made overtures towards it.
The DMK-PMK alliance would be for the forthcoming
elections to the Legislative Council, which has been revived
by an Act in Parliament as also for the 2011 assembly polls.
It said the party would allocate one Rajya Sabha seat
to the PMK in the biennial polls to be held after the assembly
polls next year.
The DMK`s decision assumes significance in the wake of
speculation that principal opposition AIADMK, which has been
battered by a series of desertions, may align with actor-
politician Vijayakant`s DMDK.
DMK snapped its ties with PMK in June 2008, capping
months of bitter relationship between the two parties. DMK
took the decision after senior PMK leader J Guru made some
critical comments against Karunanidhi.
However, the two parties were on the same platform on
the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, but failed to stitch an alliance
in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. PMK fought the general
elections in alliance with AIADMK and drew a blank.
The tie-up would help DMK and PMK in the northern
districts of Tamil Nadu where the most backward Vanniyar
community, the vote bank of PMK, is dominant.
To a question whether Congress would accept PMK in the
alliance, Karunanidhi said: "We will try our best to convince
Congress to accept PMK in the alliance."
Congress, which has 36 MLAs in the 234-member
assembly, is providing outside support to the DMK government
in the state.
Karunanidhi said the ties with PMK would continue to
last long.
He also announced that the party would field K P
Ramalingam, S Thangavel and T N Selvaganapathi in the next
month`s biennial polls.
"The Congress would contest one seat," he said.
PTI
