India's ruling Congress party struck a deal on Tuesday with a key ally in a row over seat-sharing in a state election, ending days of jitters over the stability of a government already hit by a series of crises. The decision by the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) is a respite for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as he battles a series of corruption scandals as well as inflation problems, which have already weakened his government.
The DMK, which had planned to quit Singh's council of ministers, said it would remain in the coalition following the election deal. "The agreement has been reached. We are very happy about it," the regional party chief M. Karunanidhi told reporters in the southern city of Chennai where the party is based.
The DMK has 18 seats in parliament and gives the ruling Congress a majority of one seat. A pull-out would have forced the Congress to search for other allies or continue as a minority government dependent on conditional support from other parties. The coalition was not in danger of collapse even if the DMK ministers left because the party said it would continue to give conditional support to the government. But instability would hurt government policymaking, already hit by an aggressive opposition which has stepped up pressure, seeing a chance to discredit the coalition in the eyes of voters.
Under the election deal agreed upon on Tuesday, the Congress forced the DMK to accept its demand to contest 63 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu state legislature. The regional group which dominates the state had asked the Congress to run in 60 seats and leave the rest to it.
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