Mukherjee appeals to DMK; Patch-up unlikely

Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, in-charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu, last night met Mukherjee and discussed the situation in the state.

During the two-hour meeting, the party's strategy to deal with the developments in the southern state were discussed by the two leaders.
The two leaders will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and brief them about the situation in Tamil Nadu.

After seat-sharing talks between the two parties collapsed, the DMK announced on Saturday its decision to withdraw its ministers from the Manmohan Singh cabinet.

The DMK yesterday seemingly hardened its stand even not ruling out Left parties joining its alliance.

After an informal meeting with his party leaders, Karunanidhi had hinted about the possibility of Left parties joining the alliance.

"Yes," he told reporters when asked whether there was a possibility of Left parties joining the DMK-led alliance.

To a question, Karunanidhi had said the Congress'' demand for 63 seats over the agreed number of 60 was one of the reasons for the DMK's decision.

In Delhi, highly-placed Congress sources said the party has not yet taken any decision and was keeping "all options" open.

"Let the DMK Ministers meet Prime Minister (to submit their resignation)...let us see what happens," they said. Union Chemicals Minister and Karunanidhi's son Alagiri had said in Chennai that his party did not expect the Congress to "come back" for a possible patch up.

"I am happy," he said when asked about DMK's decision to pull out of the UPA cabinet of which he is a part. He claimed Congress'' exit from the alliance will not have any impact on DMK's poll prospects.