The latter recently buttressed itself with the Congress very willingly re-joining a DMK-led alliance - old hat - but this is yet far from making it formidable to take on the more confident Ms. Jayalalithaa, who is galvanising her party for a rare second successive term. She banks on preserving her winning spree which helped her bag 37 out of 39 Lok Sabha seats in 2014.

The bitter Dravidian rivals have alternately ruled the State for 50 years since 1967 which marked the end of Congress (Kamaraj) rule. On that logic, DMK has intensely campaigned with Mr M K Stalin, second son of Mr Karunanidhi and CM-aspirant, visiting all the 234 constituencies.

Emboldened by a slow build-up of an anti-incumbency factor which gathered momentum after the Chennai deluge in late November, DMK, BJP, DMDK, PMK and other smaller parties stepped up their alliance-building plans. PMK of Dr Ramadoss, no longer in the NDA camp, has decided to contest on its own and designated Dr Anbumani Ramadoss to lead the party.

Given the intricacies of stitching alliance, Mr Karunanidhi has again come out to lead DMK and invited the Congress, to begin with, though he keenly looks forward for the DMDK of Mr Vijaykant joining the alliance, given the impressive record of votes polled by DMDK in previous elections.

Mr Vijaykant, viewed as a prized catch as much by BJP, which has worked hard to give BJP-led NDA a strong presence in Tamil Nadu, has kept both BJP and DMK in suspense, saying he would take a decision at an 'appropriate time', after consulting his partymen. His DMDK was part of NDA alliance for the Lok Sabha poll.

The reluctance of Mr Vijaykant has gone on too long possibly because of not getting the kind of offers to help him decide like say BJP designating him as its Chief Ministerial candidate or DMK assuring him of a leading position if a DMK-led government materialises.

Mr Karunanidhi is not known to favour any prior commitments on power-sharing or even offers on seats until the alliance is tied up. Both the Dravidian parties have studiously avoided sharing power with allies, and Mr Karunanidhi ran a minority government (2006-11) with Congress support from outside while his own nominees held key posts in the Congress-led UPA Government.

After meeting Mr Karunanidhi on February 13, Congress leader Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad announced his party would go with the DMK-led alliance, as in the past, and the goal is to form the next government under DMK leadership. Other issues like seats and power sharing would be taken up later.

With ten more weeks to go before the poll, due by May 15, only the DMK-Congress alliance is in place, even if incomplete. The pre-poll scene is expected to crystallise in the coming weeks with smaller parties having to stake their own positions.

The DMK-Congress alliance by itself cannot dislodge AIADMK as DMK's base has eroded, contends Dr Anbumani Ramadoss of PMK. The Congress after its split, with the group headed by Mr G K Vasan reviving the Tamil Manila Congress, would make negligible difference to the outcome, he said

But for the national party, BJP, with a massive majority at the Centre, the well-crafted strategy of Mr Amit Shah, National President, to make the party a dominant force in Tamil Nadu has not worked to expectations. None of its two former Lok Sabha allies, PMK or DMDK, is ready for a BJP tag.

Nor is there any Modi wave in Tamil Nadu though BJP ministers have been visiting and making development promises. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself launched the party campaign in Coimbatore on February 2 with a stinging attack on the Congress but without references to Dravidian parties including AIADMK or DMK.

The state-level BJP campaigns for support away from the 'corrupt regimes' of AIADMK and DMK. It has not found an ally yet. None of the smaller parties wants to identify itself with BJP. Mr Vaiko's MDMK promoted a People's Welfare Alliance (PWA) to provide an alternative to the two major Dravidian parties

PWA comprises MDMK, CPI, CPI(M) and VCK of Mr Thirumavalavan with prohibition and formation of Lokayuktha on their agenda besides ensuring farmers' rights and environment conservation. This alliance harps on a coalition government after the forthcoming election. Indeed this alliance is attracting sections of voters though its combined voting strength remains insignificant going by the last assembly poll.

Ms. Jayalalithaa has taken things coolly and asserts people want her party to retain power on the basis of her government's performance over five years, with the slew of ever-increasing welfare schemes and development promotion including transforming Tamil Nadu into a power surplus state ending an era of chronic shortages.

Parties have not come out with their election manifestoes. Ruling AIADMK cites its record including maintenance of law and order besides fulfillment of all its 2011 promises, for a renewed mandate. Ms. Jayalalithaa charged DMK with protecting family interests when in power.

Tamil Nadu's interim budget for 2016/17 - despite its leading position in the league of socially advanced and economically developed states, - indicates the extent of deterioration in state's finances which the AIADMK attributes to the sharp fall in sales tax revenue from low oil prices.

While GDP was estimated to have grown by over 8 per cent in fiscal 2016 and is projected at 9.2per cent in the coming year, there is a large revenue deficit of over Rs. 9,000 crores due to power, food and other subsidies, and considerably higher fiscal deficit at 2.92 per cent of GSDP,

All opposition parties committed themselves to introducing prohibition as a top priority but the State would have to find additional resources of the order of Rs. 7500 crores, currently derived from excise duty on liquor. The AIADMK says prohibition has to be taken up in neigbouring states first and should also involve the Centre in view of fiscal implications. It could only be a gradual process. (IPA Service)