Among the intriguing questions thrown up by UPA’s ‘Topple Mulayam’ quest — and there are many — is this scorcher: why is the DMK giving in so cravenly to the Congress stratagem of imposing President’s rule in Uttar Pradesh? At a point of time when the ruling party had come under an avalanche of criticism for its Article 356-happy ways from constitutional experts, political analysts and some of its own constituents alike, the DMK’s carte blanche comes as an unexpected endorsement of what is patently a political misadventure.

The DMK is a significant presence in the UPA coalition, with 16 MPs (22, with allies). It has also not been shy of exercising its clout from time to time. Last July, it hinted at pulling the plug on the UPA government if it went ahead with its plan to divest 10 per cent of equity in the Neyveli Lignite Corporation and had its way on the issue. So why did it not choose to use its authority for the good in the present instance? Consider also DMK’s own stance on Article 356. In its manifesto for the 2004 General Elections, it had expressly called for the abolition of Article 356 and the furthering of “genuine federalism”. Today it merely hopes that “the Congress will take a right and good decision” on UP but agrees to go along with whatever the party decides.

The reason for DMK’s astonishing somersault is of course obvious: relations between its bete noire, the AIADMK, and the Samajwadi Party, have turned cordial of late, and the inexorable — if faulty — logic of ‘my enemy’s friend is my enemy’ is at play. The DMK then rushes to occupy its appointed place at the opposite pole, even if this results in sacrificing principles; even if it means the hollowing out of its politics. Ironical isn’t it that a party that had close brushes with Article 356 — it must still remember its acute vulnerability when the Puratchi Thalaivi was screaming for the immediate dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in the late nineties — is today happy to live with it?