Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam, the main Opposition party in Tamil Nadu, suffered a major setback on Tuesday as some prominent leaders of the party joined the ruling AIADMK.
Ibrahim Rowther, one of the founding leaders of the DMDK and a close associate of party leader Vijayakant, along with more than 1,000 party workers joined the AIADMK in the presence of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who is also the party general secretary.
This comes immediately after the ‘divorce’ between the DMDK and the AIADMK was formalised by Leader of the Opposition Vijayakant, as he challenged Jayalalithaa to contest the upcoming Sankarankoil by-elections on her own.
He had criticised the AIADMK government’s move to hike bus fare and milk price in the state. Vijayakant was suspended from the Assembly last week for a period of ten days for his ‘severe criticism’ of the chief minister.
The AIADMK and the DMDK were allies during the April 2011 election to the Tamil Nadu assembly.
Rowther, known for film production, is credited with the production of a number of B-grade movies starring Vijayakant.
The DMDK leader claims he is the ‘real heir’ to late MGR, the founder of the AIADMK.
With the AIADMK and the DMDK ties coming to an end, the state is in for a major political realignment in the run up to the general elections expected to be held in 2014.
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