Chennai: All eyes are on the DMDK’s ‘political turning point conference’ called by party chief ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth at Kancheepuram on Saturday, amid growing speculation regarding his ultimate choice of poll allies. Barring the ruling AIADMK, which was his ally in the last state polls in 2011, all the political parties and fronts have been hard-wooing the star-politician despite the sharp fall in his vote share in recent time because of the expectation that he would provide that winning tilt as the battle this time will be very close.
Significantly, there has been some new bonhomie between Captain and the newly formed People’s Welfare Alliance with the former appreciating the common minimum programme of the PWA and the Alliance thanking him for his kind words, besides inviting him to join them. Vijayakanth’s response, as of now, is inviting the PWA leaders to his Kanchi conference—which some view as the first step towards his joining them.
“We are grateful for the invitation”, said a PWA statement jointly signed by MDMK general secretary Vaiko (PWA coordinator), CPI (M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan and VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan.
There is more interesting and impressive rhetoric in that PWA statement. “People are craving for a political change in the state, an alternative to both the DMK and the AIADMK. This craving is now the strongest since the change heralded by (DMK founder) Anna. The respectful leader of DMDK, Captain Vijayakanth, is well aware of this”.
Of course, the PWA leaders will not be attending the Kanchi conference because it will be Captain’s private affair, where his lieutenants are expected to pass a resolution authorising him to take “an appropriate decision at an appropriate time” regarding the choice of poll allies. “We have conveyed our best wishes for his conference to be a great success,” a Left leader told Deccan Chronicle.
The BJP has already expressed hope that Captain will remain in the NDA. But now the saffron party, insiders say, is trying hard to impress Vijayakanth that it would be best for him to stay in the NDA and even be declared as its chief minister candidate. “This will keep his CM dream alive. Should he join the DMK alliance, he will only end up hoisting Karunanidhi as the next chief minister, to be followed by his son Stalin and thereafter the members of the DMK’s First Family, one after another”, reasoned a BJP senior.
Though DMK chief Karunanidhi had invited the DMDK leader to join his front, there has not been any positive signal from Captain’s camp. His wife Premalatha had slammed the DMK-Congress alliance as a confluence of corruption. The general perception, in the media and amid political corridors, that the DMK front will surely triumph if Captain joins. Otherwise, it is advantage Jayalalithaa — and a huge advantage at that — by the scattering of the anti-AIADMK votes.
