Chennai: For a party written off as a washout following series of poll defeats and its leader falling ill, the DMDK now seems floating on a cloud with both the Dravidian majors burning midnight oil wooing it to be on their side for the ensuing Lok Sabha election. And Saturday saw the AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam beaming like never before proclaiming there would be “happy news” soon of Captain being part of his team for this poll.
“No more uncertainties. There will be good decision and happy news in one or two days”, he said cheerfully when media persons quizzed him on the ‘uncertainties’ over the alliance with the DMDK amid reports that the rival DMK too has been a hyper-active suitor.
Sources said the AIADMK has managed to freeze its deal with the DMDK giving it five Lok Sabha seats with the promise of a Rajya Sabha seat for ‘treasurer’ Premalatha provided it is assured of ‘total support’ in the by-elections for 21 Assembly seats. The ruling party had that kind of ‘quid-pro-quo’ from the PMK too after gifting away seven LS seats and one in Rajya Sabha for the Vanniyar party.
“Not quite sure the deal has been finalised”, quipped a BJP senior sounding cynical late Saturday evening, on being tossed the question on the DMDK signing in. “Captain’s wife is insisting on parity with the PMK and that’s going to be difficult. No, impossible”, he said, admitting though that “other compensations” could be offered for sealing the pact with the difficult DMDK.
Both the DMK and the AIADMK have been trying hard to forge ‘mega’ alliances hoping to gain on positive public perception that theirs has emerged as the winning team. Apart from winning this numbers game, there is yet another important factor in these alliance talks. In an election that is getting more and more difficult to predict as the days roll by, and the battles in some of the constituencies could get intensely sharp, even minor players with tiny vote-shares could be vitally useful partners.
Above all, the absence of Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi has considerably weakened their parties in the state political turf while hugely helping the pigmies in the bargaining game.
“How else would you explain the hard demands pressed by the PMK and the DMDK? The PMK had abused the AIADMK so much but the two have now signed up alliance. The DMDK is demanding the moon in spite of the bare truth that the party’s vote share is just about two per cent and its leader (Vijayakanth) is in no condition to campaign”, said a former MP, requesting anonymity.
