Rahul Gandhi’s absence adds to talk of alliance friction

CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu three times in the past two months to campaign for the BJP and its allies and is scheduled to visit the state again on April 15 and seek votes for the NDA candidate in Nagarkoil. In stark contrast, Congress Rahul Gandhi So far, there has not been a single campaign in the state.His absence has triggered strong talk that all is not well for the Congress-DMK alliance. Poll watchers contrasted the situation with the last assembly elections, when he started his campaign with a three-day visit to Tamil Nadu in January 2021.Rahul’s campaign schedule is yet to be decided, but as per the tentative plan, he will visit Assam, Kerala and Puducherry after the first phase of polls, state Congress workers said.Rahul visited Puducherry only on Monday, the penultimate day of the campaign. Moreover, even as he sought support from “Congress candidates and alliance candidates”, he studiously avoided mentioning alliance partner DMK and its official Stalin.Stalin was also in Pondicherry on the same day, but their campaign schedules were planned in a non-intersecting manner. While Rahul campaigned in the morning, Stalin visited in the evening.“Rahul did not even mention Stalin’s name in his speech,” a DMK official said. Stalin did not mention him either. Political observers said this could be the result of friction between the two parties in seat-sharing negotiations.A DMK functionary said there was no attempt on the part of the DMK to get Rahul to meet Stalin. DMK organizing secretary RS Bharathi said the two allies had planned a public meeting in advance and could not change the plan to hold a joint meeting at the last minute. However, he said the two would soon campaign together.A senior Congress official said Rahul plans to visit TN after April 10.