A government ally in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu will forge a new regional alliance in a blow to the ruling Congress party's attempts to secure a national coalition weeks before the general election. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party said it would join Congress opponent the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the April/May poll, party officials said. Tamil Nadu, which accounts for 39 of the parliament's 543 seats, was a swing state in the last general election in 2004 and helped the Congress-led coalition gain a majority in parliament. “This is the decision by my party and we will convey this to Congress as well,” Anbumani Ramadoss, the federal health minister and PMK leader, said. Ramadoss will now resign from cabinet. Thursday's move was the latest in a series of blows for Congress. While it is still the election front-runner, Congress has struggled to cement alliances in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states, which together account for 120 seats in parliament. The main national vote battle is between a coalition led by Congress – the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) – and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), an alliance led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Many national polls show that the Congress-led alliance could beat the main opposition grouping led by the BJP, but it could still fall short of a majority in parliament. A “Third Front” of communist and regional parties is challenging the two main alliances. Thursday's move in Tamil Nadu could give impetus to the Third Front if the PMK and AIADMK join it in an alliance. “It will strengthen the Third Front's bargaining position,” said political analyst Amulya Ganguli. PMK only has six seats in India's lower house of parliament. But a tie-up with AIADMK could spell trouble for Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, a Congress ally that may struggle against voters' anti-incumbency mood in the April 16-May 13 election. Nationally, Congress may still have a good chance. “The only party which has left the UPA is the PMK, which is a small party, so it's not a disaster,” Ganguli said. “All in all, I don't think Congress is in terrible trouble.”
