Though the sources admitted that the TNCC leadership has had no decisive say since 1971 in striking a deal with either of the two Dravidian heavyweights in the State, they said that the chances of a Congress-AIADMK alliance were remote because Jayalalitha has alienated the Congress leadership as much as the BJP top brass.

To begin with, Jayalalitha's description of Sonia Gandhi as ``an alien unfit to lead the Congress and govern the country as the Prime Minister'' still remains etched in the collective memory of Congress functionaries. As for Jayalalitha, she has yet to withdraw the statement describing Sonia Gandhi as a foreigner.

Moreover, alliance with the AIADMK was the issue on which the party split on the eve of the 1996 elections with G K Moopanar choosing to walk away with a major chunk of cadres, leaving a considerably weaken TNCC. Many in the TNCC still remain unreconciled to the prospect of joining hands with the AIADMK that was perceived to be highly corrupt during Jayalalitha's regime in 1991-96.

Yet another factor to be considered is that unlike the March 1998 political scenario when Jayalalitha led the AIADMK and its allies, the situation has undergone a drastic change, marked by emerging fissures in the alliance.In addition, Jayalalitha's kind of ``support'' to a governing arrangement in the last five months is an experience which will keep any prospective client like the Congress miles away, sources said.

Jayalalitha's supporter Subramanian Swamy stands indicted by the Jain Commission which went into the conspiracy angle of Rajiv Gandhi's death in 1991.

PM still under pressure, says CM:

Prime Minister A B Vajpayee is still under pressure due to tantrums from the AIADMK, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said here on Saturday. Talking to reporters, he said that the PM's reaction that the Central Government won't bow to the dictates of AIADMK to invoke Article 356, revealed that the functioning of the government was under duress. The Prime Minister had himself earlier stated that he was under pressure regarding the vexed Cauvery issue too. Responding to a question, he said that the government was ready to accord government employee status to the transport corporation workers, provided they agreed to do away with their existing benefits.