Farooq Abdullah downplays reports of DMK-Congress alliance

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who met M. Karunanidhi here today, downplayed reports that he had come on behalf of the Congress to form an alliance in the poll-bound state and said that the final decision in this regard rests in the hands of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief.

Abdullah told the media that he had come only to pay his respects to the 'great man' Karunanidhi.

"I have always respected him and his views and he has been a great friend of my father. Every time I come to Chennai, my first duty is to pay my respect to him. He is like my father," Abdullah said.

Replying to a poser on whether he had come on behalf of the Congress to urge him and form an alliance in the poll-bound state, the National Conference leader said that it was for Karunanidhi to decide.

"That will be his decision. I cannot say anything as I don't belong to the Congress. I am sure he would do very well in the coming elections. I wish him the best of luck," he added.

The Congress High Command is learnt to have given the green signal to its Tamil Nadu unit to start informal discussions with the DMK to prepare the ground for forging an alliance for the assembly elections in April-May.

The DMK had snapped ties with the Congress in 2013 over the Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

Reports suggest that the Congress is keen to establish its foothold in the state, which has often seen the DMK and AIADMK at loggerheads.

Tamil Nadu Congress chief E V K S Elangovan and other top leaders are of the view that the party must join hands with the DMK prior to the polls.

This comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also begun the consultation process to cobble up the winning alliance in the poll-bound state.