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Cong tough talk may not work with TMC
Anita Katyal
Our Political Correspondent

New Delhi, March 9
The Congress may have got away by talking tough with the DMK but it is unlikely to have the same success with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress when the two parties begin formal seat- sharing negotiations for next month’s West Bengal Assembly polls. The Congress succeeded in finalising a seat-sharing pact with the DMK on its own terms after party president Sonia Gandhi made it known to its Southern ally that it did not approve of the way it violated the coalition dharma by threatening to pull out its ministers from the UPA government in the midst of negotiations.

In her Monday night meeting with DMK ministers MK Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran, Sonia Gandh is learnt to have made it abundantly clear that the Congress could not be pushed around and it would not budge from its demand for 63 seats, as opposed to the 60 offered by the Dravidian party. She reminded the DMK leaders of their coalition responsibilities and said that the Congress was willing to face the consequences if the DMK went ahead with its threat.

While the DMK leadership relented in the face of Sonia Gandhi’s tough talk, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is not expected to wilt under Congress pressure since the situation in Tamil Nadu cannot be equated with that in West Bengal. The Congress succeeded in pressurising the DMK as it is clearly on a weak wicket, which is not the case with the TMC which is all set to unseat the 30-year-old Left Front government in West Bengal.

Not only is Tamil Nadu’s first family haunted by the 2G spectrum scam, it is also arrayed against a formidable alliance forged by its political rival AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa. The grand old party was able to play hardball with the DMK as it was well aware that its Southern ally would be rendered even more vulnerable if it failed to have the Congress on its side.

The scene in West Bengal is completely different. Not only is there a wave of popular support in favour of the Trinamool Congress, its chief Mamata Banerjee does not have to account for any scams or corruption charges and is a tough negotiator. “More importantly, Mamata Banerjee enjoys a rapport with the Congress president Sonia Gandhi,” explained a senior Trinamool Congress leader.

That Sonia Gandhi values the alliance with the Trinamool Congress was evident two days back when the Congress president made it a point to be present in the Lok Sabha when Mamata Banerjee replied to the debate on the Railway budget.

While a section of optimistic Congress leaders believe Sonia Gandhi’s no-nonsense approach to the DMK threat was also meant to send a message to the TMC chief that the party could not be bullied, the more pragmatic admit that “the same template cannot be applied in all the states.”