TIRUPUR: The Congress is not averse to contesting on its own in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K S Alagiri, said on Tuesday. He was quick to add that there were no fissures in the DMK-Congress alliance. "The Congress is prepared for everything. We want to be friends with our friends. We don't want any enmity with our friends. But if that is not possible, we will also contest alone. That is not a problem for us," he said. Alagiri reiterated there was cordial relationship with DMK.
Talking to reporters in Tirupur on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a meeting with party workers to discuss preparedness for Rahul Gandhi's TN visit the coming weekend, Alagiri said even if there were any misunderstandings, the two parties were capable of sorting them out. "As far as Puducherry is concerned, only leaders in the Union territory have to comment. Yet, there is no misunderstanding between DMK and Congress. Even if a difference of opinion crops up, we are capable of sorting it out or face it," Alagiri said. The Congress is prepared to face any situation, he said.
The statement comes in the wake of speculation that DMK was nursing ambitions of contesting all the 30 seats in Puducherry and projecting party leader S Jagathrakshakan as CM candidate. On January 18, Jagathrakshakan, addressing party functionaries and workers for the first time after he was made Puducherry's in-charge, said he would end his life on the same stage if he failed to ensure the victory of the party in all 30 constituencies.
Reiterating that all was well in the alliance, Alagiri said party cadres expressed confidence about the Congress's strength in at least 15 seats in the western region.