AIADMK, Cong skeptical of I-PAC’s 180 seats for DMK

The buzz in other camps was that the number leaked by the DMK was inaccurate. Even a few Congress insiders suspect that the number was a wee bit more than the original finding.

A Congressman, close to former union finance minister P Chidambaram, claimed that a little over 150 was the actual number of seats forecast for DMK by the poll strategist. The Congress leader added, “He (Kishor) has added some seats to impress DMK president MK Stalin. The study has originally concluded that DMK combine would secure a little more than 150 seats. Over 70 seats for the ruling AIADMK led alliance and another 10 seats were forecast as the tally of a non-Dravidian party formation.”

The leader claimed that 150 for DMK and 70 plus for AIADMK was the number told to Chidambaram by one of his influential contacts in West Bengal.

“Some leaders in the AIADMK were enthused by the 70 plus projection. Given the timing of the study and anti-incumbency, the seats forecast for the ruling party is definitely a decent number. Hence, some ruling party leaders were pleasantly surprised by the findings,” the Congress leader said.

“If it were done from early March till late June, the peak of the lockdown, then it is encouraging. The 150 seats include the tally of the allies of DMK. Once the state bounces back, we could narrow the gap further with a little more planning and alliance support,” an AIADMK leader told on condition of anonymity.

However, a DMK senior rubbished the suspicions of rivals as ‘motivated’ and said, “Apart from the I-PAC, we survey using our own functionaries. The projections are overwhelmingly favourable to us. A few of our allies might float such theories to drive a good bargain because we have been advised already to go it alone.”

“Ruling party will plant such stories to console itself and motivate its cadre. No sane person would believe if someone forecast 70 seats for this government. Even ex CM Jayalalithaa had only managed less in 2006. Even if they (EPS, OPS and Sasikala) stay united, people will not accept them,” he added.