Chennai: The four parties led People’s Welfare Front on Monday declared itself as an electoral alliance — People’s Welfare Alliance — to fight the 2016 state Assembly election and called upon like minded parties including DMDK and TMC to join their coalition.
The PWA will not have any truck with AIA DMK, DMK, PMK, Congress and BJP, PWA coordinator and MD MK general secretary Vaiko said, after releasing the front’s common minimum programme along with CPI (M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan, CPI state secretary R. Mutharasan and VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan.
Mr Vaiko expressed hope that DMDK and TMC would join their alliance. “We welcome them to join us. We believe they will do so,” he said. When asked whether they are convinced about secular credentials of DMDK which has not clarified its ties with BJP or condemned the Dadri lynching incident, Mr Vaiko said that main focus of his alliance would be anti corruption plank.
“Eradication of corruption is the goal of DMDK too. So we believe they will join our alliance. We are taking measured steps on each every issues to ensure credibility of our alliance,” he said. Pointing out that DMDK was founded against DMK and AIADMK, Mr Ramakrishnan said that votes got by DMDK were those against the DMK and AIADMK.
“There was a deviation in their approach in 2011 election. We hope DMDK will join us to continue anti DMK and AIADMK approach,” he said. As far as chief ministerial candidate is concerned, he said that it would be decided at the appropriate time after few other parties joined their alliance.
Like AAP leader Kejriwal, MDMK leader said that his alliance would come to power with the support of people. “Some people are writing off the alliance saying they don’t even have 10 per cent votes. How many per cent of votes did Kejriwal had? They did not have any political structure at all in Delhi. After BJP won all seven seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal captured power in the subsequent Assembly election. Like them, we believe in people’s power. We will form the government in 2016 polls,” he asserted.
When asked about no mention of Tamil Eelam in CMP, Vaiko asked in any alliance in which MDMK was part of previously declared about separate homeland for Sri Lankan Tamils. “All parties cannot have same policies,” he said.
On the front’s stand on Kundankulam nuclear plant, Mr Ramakrishnan said that if there was no differences, all the parties could be merged. “The CMP was drafted on the basis of stands accepted by the four parties,” he noted. Mr Vaiko siad that for the first time in Tamil Nadu political, an alliance has been formed based on common minimum programme. He said that earlier, the alliances would be formed in run up to the polls for seat adjustments.
