PMK splits with Congress, ties up with AIADMK

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Chennai: It's a double jolt for the Congress just ahead of elections. The party on Thursday lost a key ally in the south, the PMK. It's also suffered a setback from allies Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan in the Hindi heartland of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The PMK's general council voting made it official that Dr Ramadoss's party will go with J Jayalalithaa. The party has been given seven Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha nomination by the AIADMK.

PMK leader and Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said, "Since 1998 the side we have swept the polls here and this time too our alliance with AIADMK will sweep all 40 seats."

Anbumani Ramadoss' father, Ramdoss senior shifts sides only when he's confident that it will win. This strategy has kept his party in power in Delhi since 1998. He represents the OBC Vanniyar community and has a strong transferable vote bank in up to 10 seats in northern Tamil Nadu.

The face of the party in New Delhi, his son Anbumani Ramadass, will now resign in the next two days from the lucrative Health Ministry head post that he enjoyed.

"My personal relationship with Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party would continue. This is a political understanding," says Anbumani Ramadoss.

It is this personal relationship the Congress feels will work in post-poll arithmetic. However, for the moment his exit hurts an already crumbling UPA but it will give Jayalalithaa's party a decisive edge in north Tamil Nadu.

In the 2004 elections, the DMK got almost 25 per cent of votes in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK got about 30 per cent and PMK grabbed nearly seven per cent of the votes. The UPA vote share in Tamil Nadu increased to 14 per cent after the PMK joined them. Now with Ramadoss going with Jayalalithaa, the Vanniyars are expected to vote en-bloc for this alliance, further eroding the Congress's and DMK's vote base.

2004 Vote Share in Tamil Nadu

AIADMK - 29.7 per cent

DMK - 24.6 per cent

CONG - 14.4 per cent

PMK - 6.7 per cent

LEFT - 5.9 per cent

OTHERS - 18.7 per cent

(Others include MDMK - 5.8 per cent and BJP - 5 per cent)

Nonetheless, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran says in an attempt at damage control, "Their (PMK's) exit gives us more seats to contest and they will come back after we sweep the polls."

The PMK is a party which believes in being on the winning side. They have stayed in power since 1998 and that's their biggest selling point. Their arrival strengthens Jayalalithaa's alliance but for the Congress, they remain a post-poll possibility.

UPA'S TROUBLED ALLIANCES

The PMK walked out of the UPA on Thursday in Tamil Nadu.

In Uttar Pradesh, the tie-up with the Samajwadi Party fell apart.

In Bihar, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan have joined hands leaving just three seats for the Congress.

The Jharkhand alliance with the JMM almost broke.

Trouble also hit the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra before an agreement was reached.

And in the Northeast, NCP leader PA Sangma openly sided with the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Congress, in damage control mode chosing to divert attention by pointing at the NDA's and the Third Front's weaknesses.

Congress Spokesperson Kapil Sibal said that the party is the only alternative for regional parties.

"There are dwindling alliances, but the Congress is the alternative alliance. Those with us are with us and those not with are also with us. That's why Lalu ji says he not with us but still they support us," Sibal stated.

However, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley shot back at the Congress saying, "Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are very crucial seats for the Congress. The front within a front and then the PMK leaving them in Tamil Nadu will be a huge loss for the Congress."

In the meantime, the Congress is also trying to reach out to the JD(U) in Bihar but Nitish Kumar seems to have dashed their hopes for now

"The JD(U) is part of the NDA and there is no question of tying up with the Congress," the Bihar Chief Minister said.

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