The Hindu : Parties evolving election strategies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

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Parties evolving election strategies

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, MARCH 22. Though the date of election (May 20) is quite far off, the constituents of the Democratic Progressive Alliance (the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Patali Makkal Katchi, Marumalartchi DMK and the two Communist parties) are busy holding indoor meetings almost successively at different venues in Pondicherry since last week to work out the modalities and strategies for the poll campaign.

The PMK has been allotted the Pondicherry seat and its nominee in the election is M. Ramadoss, a professor in the Department of Economics in Pondicherry University.

Ever since a reconciliation was made (with the Congress coming round to the decision of the DPA to earmark Pondicherry seat to the PMK) two joint meetings of leaders and workers of the parties constituting the DPA had been held so far and both were addressed by the PMK founder, S. Ramadoss, along with the party's poll nominee and representatives of other parties in the alliance.

What had virtually embarrassed the constituents including the DMK was the `absence' of the Pondicherry Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, and his ministerial colleagues at the two earlier meetings of the DPA. The reason cited was intervention of the short session of the Assembly.The PCC president, V. Narayanasamy, had addressed the first meeting held in a star hotel. The next meeting was addressed by leaders of certain units of the Congress and a section of functionaries of the PCC.

The meeting scheduled for tomorrow would be attended by Mr. N. Rangasamy, his ministerial colleagues and also leaders of the Congress and other allies.

The Tamil Nadu CPI State Committee president, R. Nallakannu, would be among the important invitees to address the joint conclave of the parties constituting the DPA.

The BJP has on its part been implementing its poll programmes in a phased manner as it too feels that the time available was sufficiently long. The BJP candidate at the Lok Sabha poll, Lalitha Kumaramangalam, had rented a house in a peripheral constituency. A `Ganapathi homam' was performed today on the house premises.

The AIADMK has already gone on record stating that for all practical purposes the workers should bear in mind that it was the AIADMK that was in the fray although the BJP was fielded under the agreement with that party.

Neither the DMK nor the PMK has so far projected the achievements of the Congress government in Pondicherry. These parties and also the Communist parties were only training their guns against the AIADMK and the BJP.

Similarly on the BJP-AIADMK side, most of the speakers at any given meeting were airing their criticisms against the DMK or PMK and practically no critical comments were made against the Rangasamy government. Thus the Congress finds itself in a position where it neither gets bouquets nor brickbats.

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