DMK rank and file opposes piggyriding by Congress

Curiously, Nehru’s tell-all statement on the alliance has not come as surprise to DMK functionaries, thereby revealing the simmering discontent in the Dravidian major over the Congress riding piggyback on it indefinitely. The statements come close on the heels of DMK president M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi declaring that they should contest more seats on their own. Stalin junior had claimed that they would win Nanguneri by-election easily if the DMK contested it, apparently, advising the national party to relinquish its sitting seat to them.

The two statements have only manifested the exasperation of the DMK cadre, who have been complaining that they have been allotting seats disproportionate to the strength of the Congress since 2011, when the national party snatched 63 MLAs seats from the DMK which was facing the 2G heat then.

Even in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, DMK functionaries were blaming the leadership for generously allotting nine seats in TN to Congress, against the six proposed initially. The public statements of DMK leaders come in the backdrop of fears that the Dravidian major was distancing itself and eventually dump the Congress, which was nearly wiped out of the national political map but for the south.

“How long can we carry a baggage like Congress. What is their contribution? Except one or two, they don’t have a significant presence in most of the districts. We made them win elsewhere. They get most of the seats and deprive our chances,” remarked a DMK senior who did not wish to be named.

“They have caught wind of our anger. Our leadership is in no mood to give them many seats. Many district secretaries are not keen on going with them for local body polls. They are trying to better their negotiation power by asking more in public. Our leadership will not hesitate to snub or ditch them if they expect us to be generous any longer,” remarked a DMK district secretary, revealing that their Parliamentary party leader T R Baalu had categorically rejected the request of the Congress which had asked DMK to nominate former PM Manmohan Singh to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu.