TNCC change of guard to build new alliance?

TIRUCHY: Is the Congress planning to revive ties with the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu? This question is doing the rounds after the nomination of B S Gnanadesikan, a known pro-AIADMK leader, as the TNCC chief.Political circles see his nomination as an effort by the Congress to build bridges with the AIADMK leadership before the next Parliament elections.DMK leaders have always viewed Gnanadesikan, a loyalist of Union Minister G K Vasan, with suspicion due to his inclination towards the AIADMK. As long as the DMK-Congress ties were good, he was not brought into the limelight. But, his choice is an indication that the Congress high command is desperate to revive ties with the AIADMK.Though Gnanadesikan declined to air his views on political alliance and said he would stick to whatever direction given by the Congress high command, it seems his nomination itself may be a pointer towards which way the party wants to move.The DMK has lost the Assembly elections very badly and was not able to recover in the local body elections. The Congress might have decided to switch to the winning side and gain in the next Parliament elections.Party leader E V K S Elangovan’s idea of forging alliance with actor Vijayakanth’s DMDK will be a risky experiment in Parliament elections as that party polled 10 per cent votes, while the Congress secured about five per cent in the civic polls.The DMK leaders too could not have missed the signal emanating from the Congress, but they could not do anything at present. With party chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi still languishing in Tihar jail, the DMK must be apprehensive of disturbing the present arrangement at the Centre. It also cannot hope to regain the 18 Lok Sabha MPs it has, by forcing an early Parliament polls now. But, it will not be easy for the Congress to mend its ties with AIADMK as all the national parties are vying with one another to form an alliance with it.The BJP too eyes the AIADMK as its first choice in Tamil Nadu, while the Left parties too are eager to win the AIADMK’s friendship and form a third front. With a vote share of about five per cent in TN, the Congress has nothing much to offer to the powerful AIADMK here.