Baalu meets Sonia day after Alagiri turns on the heat

CHENNAI: Amidst the upheaval within the DMK’s first family over M K Alagiri’s threat to resign from the Union cabinet and party posts, DMK parliamentary party leader T R Baalu called on AICC president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, triggering talk about the party senior acting as an emissary and possibly carrying a message from Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi.
But Baalu claimed there was no truth in the matter. "Unlike what the television channels are putting out, I am not carrying any resignation letter. I merely wanted to convey my New Year greetings to the Congress leader," he told TOI from New Delhi.
But the brief meeting was more than just an exchange of New Year pleasantries, sources said. With the state polls round the corner, Baalu is expected to carry a message with regard to the alliance and election matters, besides a reminder about the party’s claim to a Cabinet berth in the wake of A Raja’s resignation and amid talk of a Cabinet expansion in mid-January. "We would like to think the Alagiri issue is a family problem and would be dealt with appropriately by the chief minister," said a party leader.
DMK sources said the party had glossed over the subject of Alagiri’s resignation, rather focusing on the road ahead to the elections. While the sulking Madurai strongman is back in the temple city after handing over his resignation letter after "taking up several demands and issues that have caused him anguish", the party is focussed on strengthening the alliance, which could also include the PMK.