Congress, DMK Wait for the Other to Blink First

Options limited for both parties as Jaya pools in strong numbers

The DMK, which has escalated the war of nerves with the Congress by threatening to pull out of the UPA, insisted on Sunday its ministers will walk out of the government on Monday. Its six ministers will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday morning and hand over their resignation letters, the DMK's parliamentary party leader, TR Baalu, told reporters in Chennai.
But that the DMK was waiting for the Congress to blink first was clear when Baalu said a resolution to the crisis would depend on the latter's response. Although the development has made the UPA government quite shaky, the Congress leadership is not displaying any panic. "We are not sending anyone to Chennai tonight," said a party leader.
The options for the two parties are limited as brinkmanship is a dangerous game to be played on election eve. AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, who has fortified the alliance led by her party by striking deals with all major anti-DMK, anti-Congress forces, already enjoys a psychological advantage. A split in the DMKled front at this juncture can only swell her kitty. "One of the two parties has to return from the brink," said a Congress leader.
But the Congress' confidence to ride the storm stems from the eagerness of parties like the SP to enter the UPA tent and bolster its numbers. Mulayam Singh Yadav, who addressed a press conference in Lucknow, ruled out any threat to the stability of the government at the centre. Tough call for Cong
"The Congress has neither approached us till now nor have we. But there is no threat to the government at the centre," he said.
It is not going to be an easy decision for the Congress as the alliance with the SP will come with a huge political price. The anxiety to revive its traditional vote base had prompted the Congress not to strike a poll deal with the SP during the last Lok Sabha elections. But the government leadership, which does want to precipitate a crisis in the midst of the budget session, is weighing the cost of its future political decisions.
While corruption charges against the centre have energised the opposition, the numerical deficit could complicate things for the government in parliament.