Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam, which had snapped ties with Pattali Makkal Katchi two months ago, on Sunday invited the S Ramadoss-led party back in the alliance, a move supported by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.
Karunanidhi, in an interview, said the Democratic Progressive Alliance in the state would have been stronger if the PMK continued in the alliance but stressed that the alliance had not been weakened due to its ouster.
Karunanidhi's comments came in the wake of assertions by Left parties that they would not have any tie-up with the DMK if the party continued its alliance with the Congress.
Earlier in the day, Chidambaram, after meeting Karunanidhi, said the PMK should return to the DPA-fold.
"PMK is still with UPA at the Centre. Due to some difference of opinion, it had gone out of the DPA. Who knows, PMK could return to DPA even tomorrow," Chidambaram said.
Reacting to Karunanidhi's remarks, Ramadoss said, "We will take a decision on our strategy, when the election dates are announced".
DMK snapped ties with PMK following the outburst by senior PMK leader J Guru against some senior DMK leaders last June. From then on, PMK had opposed the DMK government's decisions on almost all issues and accused it of acting against the state's interests. PMK has been advocating a Congress-led alliance for the Lok Sabha polls.
The DMK-led DPA, which swept the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, consisted of Congress, Left parties, PMK and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. While the MDMK left on the eve of the 2006 assembly elections, PMK was eased out of the alliance by DMK two months ago due to differences.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India, which provides outside support to the M Karunanidhi-led government in Tamil Nadu, on Sunday virtually snapped its four-year-long ties with the DMK due to the party's association with the Congress.
"I am sorry to say that even Karunanidhi has chosen to speak in a language to show that he doesn't want us. Probably he has made up his mind. We also don't want to be part of this alliance," CPI general secretary A B Bardhan told reporters after the party's State council meet.
State CPI chief D Pandian added his own bit saying DMK is part of the Congress alliance and so "we cannot be part of it".
In a resolution passed at the meet, the party said it would not have any truck with parties having ties with the Congress and the BJP.
The relations between the Left and DMK reached a low after the former withdrew its outside support to the UPA government at the Centre.