Chennai: Indicating that DMDK would not join alliance with DMK, party founder Vijayakanth’s wife Premalatha pointed out that the public comments seen on social media showed the DMK and its ally Congress in poor light and as “the root cause of corruption”. Referred by party members reverentially as ‘anni’ (sister-in-law), she is part of the DMDK decision-making triumvirate that includes her brother Sudeesh, besides of course Vijayakanth.
Premalatha was supervising the arrangements at Kancheepuram for the party’s upcoming “Turning Point Conference in Tamil Nadu Politics” to be held on Saturday, when reporters asked her about the possibility of DMDK joining the DMK-Congress alliance. “What do I have to comment about it? You (journalists) are well aware of the public’s reaction on social media about the DMK-Congress alliance, that these two parties were the root cause for corruption and other issues,” she replied. She, however, added that Vijayakanth would take the final call on the question of alliance.
With the battle between the ruling AIADMK and the main opposition party, the DMK, seen as being pretty close to call, Vijayakanth has now become the most sought-after as ally by both the DMK and the Congress, besides the BJP and the newly formed ‘People’s Welfare Alliance’. The Kancheepuram meeting is expected to hear his alliance decision.
DMDK sources said there was a strong divide in the party over the choice of alliance with a section of party legislators wanting tie-up with the DMK to ensure a sizeable presence in the Assembly and also hard bargaining for sharing of power. Another section feels that the DMDK should join either with BJP or PWF and lead the alternative front against the Dravidian majors. Teaming up with the DMK would mean “bringing back the family rule” and that would mean an end to Vijayakanth’s CM dream.
However, Prof Dr Ramu Manivannan of the department of politics and public administration, Madras University, feels that aligning with the BJP would be the best strategic choice for the DMDK as it would get unquestionable share of seats and focus. He said that if DMDK joins DMK-Congress alliance, it would get very few seats and besides, there are many bad memories about past alliance.
