New Delhi: Congress today (Dec 31, 2003) gave clear indications of an electoral tie-up with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu but remained non-committal on the possibility of having a similar arrangement with Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK).

"There is a possibility of a tie-up with DMK in Tamil Nadu," party spokesman S Jaipal Reddy told reporters.

In her efforts to unite the secular forces, Congress president Sonia Gandhi rang up DMK chief M Karunanidhi yesterday and talked to him about formation of a secular front to fight Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Asked whether the party would have a similar tie-up with MDMK, which has also deserted National Democratic Alliance (NDA) like DMK, Reddy merely said that "this is a subject matter for the party leadership".

To a question whether it would have electoral understanding with DMK, a party which it had alleged in the past of having a soft corner for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that had killed Rajiv Gandhi, Reddy said, "In today's condition, the cause of secularism is so paramount that the past contradictions need to be buried."

The Congress would, however, relentlessly pursue the case relating to the conspiracy behind the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Reddy added.