Tamil Nadu polls: Rahul Gandhi’s absence from campaign sparks buzz over Congress-DMK ties

CHENNAI: In the past 2 months, PM Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu thrice, campaigning for BJP and its allies, and is scheduled to sojourn the authorities again connected April 15 and question votes for the NDA candidates astatine Nagercoil.

In crisp contrast, Congress's Rahul Gandhi has not campaigned adjacent erstwhile successful the authorities truthful far.His lack has sparked a beardown buzz that each is not good successful the Congress-DMK alliance. Poll watchers opposition this with the erstwhile assembly election, erstwhile helium kickstarted his run with a three-day Tamil Nadu sojourn successful Jan 2021.Congress functionaries successful authorities said Rahul's run schedules are yet to beryllium firmed up, but arsenic per the tentative plan, helium volition sojourn aft the archetypal signifier of polls successful Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.Rahul visited Puducherry lone connected Monday, the penultimate time of campaigning. And, adjacent arsenic helium sought enactment for "Congress candidates and confederation candidates", helium studiously avoided mentioning confederation spouse DMK and its functionary M K Stalin.Stalin, too, was successful Puducherry the aforesaid day, but their run schedules were planned successful a mode that they didn't transverse paths. While Rahul campaigned successful the morning, Stalin visited successful the evening.

"Rahul did not adjacent notation Stalin's sanction successful his speech,'' said a DMK functionary. Nor did Stalin notation him. Political observers said this could beryllium a fallout of the friction betwixt the 2 parties during the seat-sharing talks.A DMK functionary said determination was nary effort from DMK's broadside for a gathering betwixt Rahul and Stalin. DMK organisational secretary, R S Bharathi, said the 2 allies had planned their nationalist gathering good successful beforehand and couldn't change it astatine the past infinitesimal to clasp a associated meeting. However, the 2 would run unneurotic shortly, helium said.A elder Congress functionary said Rahul has planned to sojourn TN aft April 10.