The ten functionaries had questioned party's decision to align with PWF.
DMDK chief Vijayakant expelled ten functionaries, including three MLAs, who questioned party's decision on Tuesday to align with PWF. The ten senior DMDK functionaries, including three MLAs, had raised a banner of revolt against the party high command's decision to align with People's Welfare Front (PWF) for the May 16 Assembly polls, virtually giving an ultimatum to its chief Vijayakanth to reverse his decision by noon tomorrow.
The party's whip in Tamil Nadu Assembly, V C Chandrakumar, MLAs C H Sekar and S R Parthipan, besides seven others, displayed before reporters "a letter to Vijayakanth" dated March 24, questioning his logic behind aligning with PWF. "The decision was not taken in line with the aspirations of party functionaries, workers and people whose sole motive is to throw out the Jayalalithaa government, and this is possible only by aligning with the DMK," Chandrakumar said. "The decision to align with PWF is against the wishes of 95% of party workers and functionaries who favour a tie-up with DMK," he said.
Chandrakumar, representing Erode (East) in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, said they were never given an audience by Vijayakanth to discuss the matter after he firmed up the alliance with PWF on March 23 and said the decision had been taken by the actor politician and his wife Premalatha "at their house." "The decision has been taken by Captain (Vijayakanth, as he is addressed by supporters) and Premalatha at their house whereas we have been moving at the grassroots level where supporters and people want DMDK to align with DMK," he claimed.
Chandrakumar said they continued to be in DMDK and had come out in the open only after having exhausted all other avenues to reach Vijayakanth. Responding to a question, he denied that DMK or its Treasurer M K Stalin, who had said that DMDK will weaken itself, had anything to do with them coming out in the open today. Asked if those who had raised a banner of revolt against
Vijayakanth will quit if he did not meet them by tomorrow noon as demanded by them or review his decision to align with PWF, Chandrakumar said things have not come to that situation. "We are confident that good things will happen." Recalling his association with Vijayakanth since his days in acting in the early 1980s, as a member of the actor's welfare club, Chandrakumar said he and the others were part of building the party and assured their loyalty to their 'Captain'.
He exuded confidence that DMK will win the coming elections and its president M Karunanidhi will become Chief Minister irrespective of whether DMDK aligned with it or not. Asked if Premalatha and her brother L Sutheesh had a firm say in DMDK aligning with PWF, Chandrakumar reiterated that the "decision was taken at home" but did not elaborate.
Breaking his suspense in the face of actively being wooed by DMK and BJP, Vijayakanth on March 23, firmed up an alliance with PWF, and earned the lion's share of 124 of the 234 seats. Vijayakanth was declared the Chief Ministerial candidate of DMDK-PWF alliance.
With agency inputs.
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