Chennai:
Union Environment Minister and Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan today met DMK chief M Karunanidhi at his Chennai residence. The meeting came a day after Mr Karunanidhi said he will seek the support of other political parties before choosing the DMK's candidate for the Rajya Sabha.
Ms Natarajan, however, said it was a "courtesy call" to greet the leader who celebrated his 90th birthday on June 3. She added, "Only the party would decide on supporting the DMK in its bid for a Rajya Sabha seat."
The DMK had snapped ties with the Congress in March this year on differences over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. Sources in the Congress told NDTV there has been no formal request from the DMK on this issue yet.
There is speculation that the DMK president may want to send his daughter M K Kanimozhi to Rajya Sabha again. Her current tenure comes to an end in July.
Tamil Nadu has 18 Rajya Sabha seats. Six of them are up for grabs in July because the terms of the current members are ending.
A candidate needs 34 votes to get elected. The DMK, which has 23 MLAs in 235-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, should ensure support of 11 other legislators to be absolutely sure of a seat in the Rajya Sabha elections on June 27. The DMK's former ally the Congress has five seats in the state Assembly.
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her party, the AIADMK, are putting up five candidates, effectively contesting all the vacancies.
Political observers say besides Congress' support, Karunanidhi may be looking for support from Left parties or actor Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK). Although the actor's party has 29 MLAs, at least seven of them have rebelled and are supporting AIADMK. Hence in the present scenario he may not be able to send a nominee to the Upper House and the DMK is pining hopes on him.