Chennai: DMDK leader Vijayakanth will elicit the views of partymen on forming alliance with other parties for the local body elections, after his birthday celebrations on August 25.
The party has announced that the alliance with the People’s Welfare Alliance was only for the Assembly elections. Party leader Vijayakanth’s wife Prelamalatha in an interview to a Tamil weekly had said Vijayakanth would take a decision when the local body election is announced.
Unlike the 2016 Assembly elections when Vijayakanth was sought after by every party including the DMK, the options are limited for the actor’s party after the rout in the Assembly polls.
The party which contested in 104 seats secured only 2.5 per cent votes, while the PWA which also fielded candidates in the same number of seats polled around 3.5 per cent votes.
With the DMDK getting one per cent votes less than the PWA, it is not certain if the latter will accept Vijayakanth as the leader of the alliance again. DMDK treasurer A.R. Elangovan had said his party would contest alone in the local body elections, but parties which accept its leadership could join it.
The announcement is similar to the one made by Vijayakanth before the Assembly elections. The PWA party leaders immediately met the actor and finalised the alliance, declaring him as the Chief Ministerial candidate.
This time, the PWA constituents had announced that the district level leaders of the four parties would meet in the third week of August to discuss about seat sharing for the local body polls.
The BJP had not invited the DMDK for alliance and its leaders had already announced that they would go it alone. Before the Assembly elections, the BJP leaders had met Vijayakanth several times and repeatedly tried to bring him to their front. Similar moves are absent now, indicating that the BJP is not desperate for an alliance with Vijayakanth now.
The actor’s party has the option of contesting alone and proving its electoral strength in the local body elections. But, partymen are wary of going it alone, after the large scale desertions from the party.
The party used to celebrate its leader Vijayakanth’s birthday as poverty alleviation day. The celebrations are likely to be a low key affair this time. One of the functionaries said opinions would be sought by the DMDK leadership on the local body elections after the birthday celebrations.
