The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's snapping of ties with the Pattali Makkal Katchi is expected to hasten the emergence of a new front lead by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam as the PMK is likely to cast its lot with Jayalalithaa for the next general elections.
   
The DMK, along with its allies the Congress, PMK, and Left parties had won all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu.
   
The PMK, which had influence among backward Vanniyar-dominated northern districts of the state, seems to be moving closer to the AIADMK. The PMK was expected to finalise its course of action at a general council meeting on Friday. Though the party appears in no hurry to take a decision on the alliance issue, the general council is expected to authorise party founder S Ramadoss to take a final decision, party sources said.
   
Party president G K Mani said S Ramadoss, his son and Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu would be attending the meeting to take stock of the political situation.The PMK, known for switching alliances before every election.

For its part, the DMK is expected to compensate the loss of the PMK vote bank, consisting of 5.65 percent, by roping in smaller parties.
   
For the AIADMK, which had only the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in its alliance, an alliance with the PMK would help it get some seats in the northern districts.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has already indicated that it was prepared for the revival of 1998 Lok Sabha alliance in which AIAMDK, PMK, MDMK and BJP fought the elections during which the saffron party won a Lok Sabha seat for the first time in the state.

If the PMK wants to join the AIADMK-front, it had to leave the United Progressive Alliance, which means it has to withdraw its nominees Ramadoss and Velu from the Manmohan Singh [Images] cabinet. However, PMK sources said it was too premature to talk about alliances. "First we would like to concentrate on raising the people's issues in the Tamil Nadu assembly and outside. We will behave like an opposition party during the monsoon session," they said.

A DMK minister said the party cadre was happy over the decision to snap ties. "The PMK was bent upon troubling us on every issue. We could not undertake any major project like setting up of a satellite town to reduce congestion in Chennai due to the PMK's opposition," he said.

For its part, the Congress has become a mute spectator to the entire episode, though Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president M Krishnanswamy, whose daughter Sowmya is married to Anbumani, had issued an appeal to all constituents of the DMK-led alliance to maintain the coalition dharma.