In an interview to The Indian Express, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav had said that if the Congress was not ready to take the initiative it should support the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) to form a government.

Meanwhile, two developments in Chennai gave rise to speculation and kept the focus on the Congress. First, AICC general secretary R K Dhawan flew to the city amid talks that the visit was linked with the dissatisfaction of the AIADMK with the Vajpayee government and the overtures made lately to the Congress by several parties to form a new government.

Secondly, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha has called a meeting of her MPs on July 1 todiscuss the political situation. Late night agency reports said she has also called a meeting of her allies on the same day and V Gopalasami's (Vaiko) MDMK has been left out.

Earlier in the day, Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha met Vaiko in Chennai. The MDMK did not toe the AIADMK line and attended yesterday's coordination committee meeting called by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi leading many to conjecture that the AIADMK may jettison its ally for the rebuff.

Dhawan, who is perceived to be close to Jayalalitha, underplayed his visit saying he came to Chennai from Hyderabad where he had spent two days with Sonia Gandhi, trying to work out a programme to revamp the state unit there.

``When the time comes, we will seek the support and cooperation of all the secular parties,'' Dhawan said denying that the party had sent feelers to the AIADMK or any other party in this connection.

The Congress will seek the support of all secular parties to provide an alternative government if theruling BJP-led coalition collapses on its own, he added. Regarding a tie-up with the AIADMK, he said the question was hypothetical as of now.

He denied that the Congress was holding talks with other parties or fronts to form an alternative government. Asked if he considered the AIADMK secular, the senior Congress leader shot back: ``Has anybody said the AIADMK is not secular? We never said so. We had an alliance with it in the past.''

Dhawan was evasive answering a question on whether his party will back Jayalalitha's demand for the dismissal of the DMK government. ``It all depends on the emerging situation. Anyway, they (the AIADMK) are seeking dismissal only on grounds of the law and order situation. The reports about this are contradictory''.

Dhawan, who is also in charge of the Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry units of the party, left for New Delhi in the evening, after deliberations with TNCC president K V Thangabalu and other senior party leaders.