Amid alliance government demand, Congress brass meets Tamil Nadu netas

NEW DELHI: Congress’ brass met party seniors from Tamil Nadu on Saturday to chalk out a strategy for the upcoming assembly polls and deliberate on the cadres’ demand for an understanding with DMK.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired the meeting attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal, TN Congress chief K Selvaperunthagai, MPs P Chidambaram, Manickam Tagore, Karti Chidambaram, Jyothimani, V Vasanth, and Professionals’ Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty, among others.The meeting at the party’s Indira Bhawan headquarters here comes amid calls from TN Congress for a share in power if the DMK-led alliance wins the assembly election due by March-April. Tagore had said recently it was time to debate “share in power.” CLP neta and Killiyoor legislator S Rajeshkumar had also batted for a coalition govt. Congress in-charge for TN, Girish Chodankar, had said if any party said “they don’t want power, then we should call ourselves an NGO.”However, ruling out scope for a coalition govt, senior DMK neta and TN minister I Periyasamy had asserted this week that CM M K Stalin was firm on the sta-nd against sharing office with allies. The meeting comes amid speculation that Congress could consider an alliance with newly formed actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK, but state unit netas have denied the possibility.Since 1967, both DMK and AIADMK had formed their own govts despite fighting polls in alliance with other parties. Following Independence, when the first general election was held in the then composite Madras state in 1952, Congress failed to secure an absolute majority. Congress neta Sachin Pilot Friday had defended the demand for a share in power in TN, saying every party aspired to have a role in governance.