It was a big blow for Congress when on Saturday (March 5) the party's second biggest ally -- the DMK decided to withdraw its support at the Centre after talks between the two parties on seat-sharing for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections failed. Following the DMK's dramatic announcement yesterday on ending the alliance over seat sharing woes, the Congress top brass is likely to hold a meeting today in the capital to decide on the strategy ahead.
Currently the DMK has 18 MPs -- a number, if withdrawn will worry the Congress.
The DMK decided to pull out its ministers from the UPA cabinet, preferring to offer "issue-based support" to the government.
Alleging differences over seat-sharing in Tamil Nadu polls as the main reason for their action, DMK leaders added a rider saying the party would be willing to reconsider its decision if the Congress accepted the offer of 60 seats instead of 63 for the TN assembly polls.
DMK President M Karunanidhi, who had accused the Congress of being unreasonable in its demand, yesterday charged the ally of trying to push it out of the UPA. The meeting of the party's high-powered committee presided over by him adopted a resolution to pull out of the government and to give issue-based support.
Apparently referring to the Congress' demand of 63 seats of its choice after agreeing to 60, he said the Congress stand does not help for an amicable poll accord.
"We are compelled to suspect that these are all efforts by Congress to push us out of the UPA. Under these circumstances we have to think whether to continue in the government. So we have decided to relieve ourselves from the government," Karunanidhi told the meeting.
He made it clear that while pulling out its six ministers from the Union Cabinet, the party would give issue-based support to the Manmohan Singh government during times of trouble.
With 18 MPs, the DMK is the second largest ally of Congress in the UPA after Trinamool Congress which has 19 MPs.
The DMK's decision had put the seven-year-old successful alliance between the two parties under severe strain ahead of the April 13 polls when it faces a tough challenge from rival AIADMK which has already tied-up with actor Vijayakant's DMDK and Left parties.
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