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Miffed JD walks out of UF in Tamil Nadu, urges Gujral not to canvass for Front

The United Front in Tamil Nadu is confined to three parties -- the DMK, TMC and the CPI -- with the Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India-Marxist walking out of it and deciding to go it alone. Following the Dal's decision to come out of the Front, Prime Minister I K Gujral's scheduled visit to Madras on February 2 for campaigning hangs in the balance.

While the CPI-M, dissatisfied with the allotment of just one seat by the DMK-TMC combine, announced earlier that it would contest six Lok Sabha seats, the Dal, which was not given any seat, declared that it would contest 10 seats on its own. State Dal president G A Vadivelu has appealed to Gujral not to campaign for the DMK-TMC combine of which the Dal is not a part.

However, in a last-ditch effort, the Dal appealed to TMC president G K Moopanar to accommodate the party to avoid division in the Front votes. Vadivelu has already met Moopanar in this connection.

The TMC announced candidates for five more constituencies and left one seat undecided. Even this seat would be allotted only to a TMC nominee and not to the Dal, party sources asserted.

Vadivelu will contest the Lok Sabha poll in the state from Krishnagiri.

The other candidates are: D Mano Thangaraj (Nagercoil), C Balaraman (Chengalpattu), P Viswanatha Kakkan (Sriperumbudur), P Ayyakannu (Tiruchirapalli), K Balasubramaniam (Madras Central), Kasupatti Ponnuswamy (Coimbatore), M K Raveendran Charles (Tiruchendur) and Dr Asokan (Cuddalore).

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