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Moopanar's Delhi trip arouses speculation

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

Tamil Maanila Congress president G K Moopanar's trip to Delhi has given way to fresh speculation. Indications are that he will hold talks with friends in the Congress over their future relations, and also on the party's approach towards the reported moves for toppling the Vajpayee government.

"The AIADMK's pressure tactics against the BJP leadership is said to be based or the possibility of the former working with the Congress and other 'friendly parties' for forming an alternate government at the Centre," says an informed source. "This would imply that the Congress leadership has to agree to the dismissal of the DMK state government in Tamil Nadu, and also ignore the TMC in its future plans."

Moopanar's Delhi visit becomes more relevant in the context of the reported Congress Working Committee meeting over the weekend and the DMK's state executive also holding its parleys on future strategy in Madras. "Some people want the TMC and Mr Moopanar to be a bridge between the DMK and the Congress," says the afore-quoted source. "Moopanar's Delhi visit could thus be termed exploratory in nature," he adds.

Moopanar has also been meeting party cadres from the districts over the past fortnight, to assess their mood on the proposal to merge the TMC with the Congress, and to read their mind on the future of the TMC-DMK alliance. While the overwhelming opinion -- barring that from Kanyakumari district -- was for the TMC not to merge with the Congress, but only have an electoral alliance, opinion was more or less divided on continuing the ties with the DMK.

However, even those who opposed to the DMK alliance have no strategy to win future elections, other than saying that the TMC in the company of the Congress can lead a third front. "But that sounds good only on paper, and we will require the DMK at least for some more time, until Mrs Sonia Gandhi establishes her leadership," he adds.

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