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N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
It has become a game of ping-pong, with the All India Anna DMK on the one side and the TMC-Congress combine on the other. From what was once a friendly tie, a trial-run for the bigger game at the hustings, it has now acquired all traits of a fierce competition, whose effects may spill over to the real game even if there is a late-hour patch-up.
By declaring that it is for the AIADMK to decide on the Pattali Makkal Katchi question in Pondicherry, the Congress general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has successfully pushed the ball back to Jayalalitha.
The Congress has simultaneously rejected the AIADMK offer of 45 seats in Tamil Nadu and the AIADMK's share of rotational chief ministership in the Union Territory.
"We are not agreeable to it, least of all to the PMK getting a share in power, now or ever," said a senior Congress leader. "Our reservations about the PMK are founded in its LTTE links. Accepting a role for the party in any government would be deemed a sell-out on our principles," he added.
He also referred to Azad's declaration that the Congress high command had "not given a thought to de-linking the Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry alliances from each other," as proposed by Jayalalitha.
The Congress and TMC leaderships have also taken note of the reservations expressed by the two Communist parties, to their continuance in the AIADMK-led combine. "Their problems are as genuine as ours, as the number seats on offer for them has fallen much short of their expectations," said a TMC leader adding that all this is, however, still negotiable.
Though maintaining stoic silence in public, sections within the two Communist parties in the state are said to be upset over Jayalalitha's strong language against them. "Jayalalitha has blamed us for going to the press with our demands on seat-sharing, but then how is it fair on her part to castigate the Communist parties for adopting unethical and improper methods at a largely-attended press conference?" asked a senior CPI leader.
In this context, Communist leaders in Madras also refer to the independent stand taken by their counterparts in Pondicherry. Addressing a joint press conference on Tuesday afternoon, leaders of the Pondicherry unit of the CPI and CPM joined issue with Jayalalitha on the PMK question.
"With Jayalalitha declaring that there are enough seats left in the Union Territory for the AIADMK to offer to the Congress-TMC combine, we are afraid it too may be at the cost of the two Communist parties," explains a Tamil Nadu CPM leader.
As may be recalled, the AIADMK has already offered 10 of the 30 Pondicherry seats to the PMK. "That leaves 20 seats to be shared between the Congress, TMC, AIADMK and the two Communist parties, not to mention our Muslim League colleagues," the CPM leader said. "If the Congress demand of a possible non-PMK government is to be met, then its share and that of TMC could be met only through sacrifices by the two Communist parties, as also the AIADMK. While the AIADMK may have its own reasons for making the sacrifice, we cannot be expected to follow suit," he added.
For that matter, even the TMC's demands in Tamil Nadu can be met only in the event of the party joining the AIADMK combine, minus the Congress. Jayalalitha has offered the two parties a total of 45 seats, which at best could be upped by another five.
"That would leave us only with 35 seats, whereas we have 36 sitting MLAs. We also have our own allies from among the Dalit and Muslim parties, whom we have to provide at least a nominal number of seats. "
It is with all this in mind, and also after taking into consideration the reality of the situation caused by the PMK's induction that the pro-AIADMK section within the TMC has been arguing for the party ditching the Congress, at least in Tamil Nadu.
"As the leader of the coalition, we will have to appreciate Jayalalitha's problems," said a pro-AIADMK-TMC leader, adding, "If we need all our seats and also want to get over the PMK problem, we will have to strike separate deals with the parent party on Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry."
However, a section within the TMC is said to be keen on the party not sacrificing either its own share of seats or its alliance with the Congress. "We had demanded 60 seats for both the Congress and the TMC, that too was six less than that allotted to us under the MGR formula," said a TMC leader. "When the Communist parties are insistent on the MGR formula, why shouldn't we be doing the same? After all, even today, the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham is willing to treat us with greater respect."
Sums up a Congress leader: "It is not really our battle, but theirs (AIADMK and TMC).
"It is a question of life and death for them both. While we are able to appreciate the TMC's predicament, Jayalalitha should appreciate her own, without acting tough with the allies as she is wont to do. As for the Congress, our battle is being fought in Pondicherry, where we may not even require the TMC to back us."
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