Pranab puts Cong-DMK alliance back on track

Krishnakumar Padmanabhan and Sheela Bhatt zero in on the latest developments in the DMK-Congress seat-sharing drama in Tamil Nadu

The Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance is back on track, with the re-opening of communication channels between the two parties.

Sources said the Congress is set to agree to contest 60 seats, which was the DMK's final offer after three rounds of hard bargaining.

The other hurdles like choosing the constituencies and sharing of power are being ironed out, and an announcement is expected later tonight or tomorrow.

The main factor that seems to have swung the alliance back on track is that the Congress had nowhere to go in Tamil Nadu.

Very cleverly, the DMK shut the door on the Congress only after the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had allotted 41 seats to the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. This meant the AIADMK did not have enough seats to give the Congress even if the two wanted to come together.

Another factor that nudged the Congress back into its unwanted' ally's arms is the immense pressure from the state unit leaders to strike a tie-up with the DMK.

Irrespective of Rahul Gandhi's ambitions -- and sources say he is still not in favour of this alliance -- the state leaders know very well that the Congress may not cross single digits in this election without the DMK. There was just not enough time for the Congress to mount its campaign single-handedly.

Senior Congress leaders in New Delhi are said to have overruled Rahul Gandhi in this matter and given the green signal for its negotiators to close the deal.

If these are the factors that influenced the Congress' decision, on the DMK side, the prospect of being powerless at both the Centre and state if it loses this election would have alarmed a party that probably does not remember when last it was out of power in both the Centre and the state.

But in the final analysis, no one will ignore the fact that the Congress finally is getting 60 seats, a 12 seat increase from the last elections. While no major ground reality has changed in Tamil Nadu -- the Congress is still the same faction-ridden and root-less party it was five years ago, if not worse -- how did it manage to snag these extra seats.

That is the story of this alliance, and the reasons are out there in the open.

Sheela Bhatt adds from New Delhi

Senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and P Chidambaram seem to be coming to understanding that Rahul Gandhi's idea of going alone may not be workable in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls.

According to indications, the Congress is likely to declare a truce later tonight or tomorrow. The DMK had thrown the ball in Congress 's court by asking their ministers to resign from the Union Cabinet.

On Sunday, the Congress tested the DMK's  patience by keeping slient and tried their best to sqeeze the maximum seats from their southern ally. 

Monday was a hectic day for party leaders in their offices in Parliament. The DMK's Dayanidhi Maran, who isn't in favour of the aliance, met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and later, Mukherjee met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at her office in Parliament.

The sources say even Karunanidhi's daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi spoke to Mukherjee from Chennai.

Mukherjee, the man who virtually runs the political show of the government, seems to have prevailed and his age-old wisdom and some realism emanting from Ground Zero (Tamil Nadu) have made the Congress rethink their decision to break the alliance. 

It's alleged that DMK wanted to delay Kanimozhi's and her mother's interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

AIADMK supporter and ally Vaiko had started his campaign against Congress since Sunday night.

If the Congress and DMK alliance works out then J Jayalalithaa will face a tough fight. The DMK with its money power, government machinery and welfare schemes, will put up strong fight in spite of the corruption charges and infighting within the family.