Telangana hardly has any Tamilian population, let alone the Dravidian parties like DMK and AIADMK have any presence in the state.
To some extent, these parties have some hold in the bordering districts of Andhra Pradesh like Chittoor and Nellore, but in Telangana, they hardly matter.
Maybe, there is a small percentage of Tamil people in the Information Technology corridors of Hyderabad. But these software engineers hardly come out and vote. There are a few Tamil businessmen and traders here and there, but they are insignificant.
So, when Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin’s DMK issued a statement, extending support to the Congress in the Telangana assembly elections, it surprised everybody.
In an official statement on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu party said: “All wings and cadres of the DMK in Telangana state should strive for the victory of the Congress’ candidates on behalf of INDIA bloc.”
The DMK asked its wings and cadres in Telangana to form an Election Working Committee and work hard with the Congress to ensure a large margin of victory for the party’s candidates, the statement from Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, said.
Interestingly, the DMK is the first in-power Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) bloc party to publicly declare its support to the Congress — which is fighting a fierce electoral battle with the BRS in the Telangana Assembly elections scheduled for November 30.
For the Congress in Telangana, support from any quarter is welcome, as every vote counts in the keenly-fought elections.
“Whether the DMK’s statement will have any impact or not, it will definitely be a morale booster for the Congress,” an analyst said.
Though the DMK support hardly matters, it is also being shown as a snubbing for KCR, who considers Stalin as his best friend. KCR went to Tamil Nadu a couple of times to discuss the third front prospects with Stalin, but the latter was firm on his support to the Congress.
Ironically, the DMK’s public support to the Congress comes at a time other parties of the INDIA bloc, such as the Aam Aadmi Party, are fielding candidates against it in poll-bound states like Rajasthan.