Reports have emerged that DMK MP Kanimozhi has held discussions with Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as part of an effort to explore a national-level “third front” under DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
According to the information, Kanimozhi met Thackeray in Mumbai, Maharashtra, in a meeting that lasted about an hour. She also met Pawar in Delhi, along with Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule.
Sources quoted in the report said the DMK is looking to bring together state parties that are at odds with the Congress within the INDIA alliance, with the aim of forming a bloc positioned as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress.
During the meeting with Thackeray, Kanimozhi is said to have discussed the issue of Lok Sabha constituency delimitation and the need for state parties to coordinate against moves that could affect southern states. The report also notes that differences with the Congress have surfaced in multiple states, including Maharashtra.
The report further claims Kanimozhi plans to meet Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and later Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee after the bypoll results in Madurantakam and Dharapuram.
