Congress keen on keeping alliance strong, but DMK silent on seat-allocations for Tamil Nadu by-elections

Chennai: Congress has time and again stated that their alliance with DMK is strong, but the latter has not promised anything to Congress ahead of upcoming by-elections, so far.

However, reports claim that Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) is keen on contesting (Assemby by-election) from three constituencies as against one in 2016 in Sholinghur. Thus Congress might demand Permabur and Tiruparankundram as well, say party sources.

Tamil Nadu is all set for by-elections for 20 Assembly seats. By-election for Tiruparankundram and Tiruvarur must be conducted before February 2016. But post the disqualification of MLAs, 18 constituencies have another six months for bypolls.

While Congress does not have a great presence in Tamil Nadu, strong Dravidian parties in the state are interested in an alliance with national parties for fuel their ambitions during the Lok Sabha elections.

Though Congress is keen on contesting the by-election from three seats, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has not approached Congress in this regard as yet.

The Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu are of the opinion that it is too early to expect DMK to speak about by-elections as the polls are more than three months away.

However, there are chances that DMK might choose to contest elections alone, if they do not find their alliance with Congress reaping any benefit.

Meanwhile, in August, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dinakaran had said that they are ready to align with Congress if it breaks ties with the DMK.

The Congress had reiterated that their bond with DMK was strong and they were not thinking of an alliance with any other party.

However, despite Congress's statements, DMK is silent over the issue and it is not sure if they want to continue their alliance with Congress in Tamil Nadu.

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