Chennai: Anything is possible in politics and there is no permanent friends or foes here. Proving this fully true are a bunch of parties in the country.
Floated against the Congress, these outfits carry the anti-Congress program in their very DNA. However, they are now either already in the Congress alliance or are not averse to forge partnership with the grand old party post the Lok Sabha election results 23 May.
A breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam, DMK, or Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, vehemently opposed the Congress rule in Tamilnadu and stormed to power in 1969, led by C N Annadurai. In fact, DMK was the first party other than the Indian National Congress to win Assembly elections with a clear majority on its own in any State in India.
However, things changed after the demise of Anna, and M Karunanidhi, who came to the helm, forged alliance with the Congress led by Indira Gandhi. His party was an important ally in the UPA-I and UPA-II governments. And, the friendship continues after his death too, as the DMK, now led by Karunanidhi’s son M K Stalin, faced the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections in association with the Congress and Stalin was the first to propose Rahul Gandhi’s name for the Prime Minister post.
Tamilnadu’s neighbour Andhra Pradesh too has a similar (hi)story. N T Ramarao, the Telugu matinee idol, founded the TDP (Telugu Desam Party) as an alternative to the Congress hegemony, by emphasising on the Telugu regional pride and a party for farmers, backward castes and middle class people.
But, N Chandrababu Naidu, his son-in-law and successor, is now trying his best to unseat the BJP and bring the Congress to power in the Centre. Since Saturday, he was holding talks with Congress chief Rahul and other leaders to rally support for a non-BJP government.
The Left parties (CPI and CPI-M), Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee and the Aam Aadmi Party too were outcomes of anti-Congress mindset. But they are now close to the national party and are expected to support it in its attempts to come to power.
Ravikumar, a Chennai-based professor who tracks the national politics for the past two decades, says, “as of now, it is safe to only expect that the BJP and the Congress in Delhi and the AIADMK and the DMK in Tamilnadu won’t forge alliances. Other than these combinations, anything can happen in politics. At the end of the day, it is all about who is in power and who is sharing the fortunes. So, our politicians will go to any extent.”