Chennai, Feb 1 (BPNS)

The big brother attitude of the DMK in the seat-sharing of Urban local body polls has reached a collision course in Karur after Congress MP, Jothimani’s walkout from the seat-sharing meet presided over by DMK leader and state power minister, Senthil Balaji.

The Congress has been claiming for a good number of seats in the urban local body polls as the party is of the view that it had the grass-root support in several constituencies and that the seat allocation must be in proportion to that.

After Karur MP and Congress leader Jothimani and her supporters walked out of the seat-sharing meeting at Karur on Monday, the local level relation between the DMK and Congress has turned sour. The Congress leaders are of the opinion that the DMK was indulging in seat-sharing in an autocratic manner which cannot be accepted by the Congress party.

Sources in the Congress told BPNS that there was a verbal duel between Jothimani and Senthil Balaji and DMK leaders asked the Congresspeople to leave the hall where discussions were taking place. Jothimani is a firebrand woman leader of the Congress party with grass-root support in Karur and it is to be seen as to how she and her supporters would take this issue.

Jothimani was enraged as Senthil Balaji finalized all the 48 seats in the Karur municipality without consulting her and this led to a verbal duel between the two. Jothimani walked out of the meeting hall and the  Congress leadership is sore that the minister did not prevent her from leaving the hall.

K.S. Alagiri, Tamil Nadu State Congress president while speaking to BPNS said, “ It is a local level issue and there are no problems between the DMK and Congress in our alliance. We will iron out the differences if any and work for the victory of the Secular Progressive Alliance candidates in the ensuing Urban local body polls. Just like in the General elections, assembly elections, and rural local body elections for the nine districts, it will be a cakewalk victory for DMK, Congress, and our allies in the urban local body polls as people are with us. Please don’t blow up minor issues.”

While the Congress leadership is trying to downplay the issue, the local Congress leaders are miffed at the stand taken by Senthil Balaji and want the intervention of Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin into the matter