PMK, MDMK, CPI and CPM’s joining the Jayalalithaa bandwagon has drastically altered political equations in Tamil Nadu.
PMK, MDMK, CPI and CPM’s joining the Jayalalithaa bandwagon has drastically altered political equations in Tamil Nadu. The rainbow coalition of 2004, comprising Congress, DMK, PMK, MDMK, CPI, CPM and IUML, that won all 39 seats in the state and the lone constituency in neighbouring Puducherry is a shambles, and Congress and DMK are left to fight their erstwhile allies.
BJP and actor-turned politician Vijaykanth’s DMDK, which are going it alone, may only split votes. AIADMK, which notched up a 30% vote share last election but did not win a single seat, will surely be bolstered by the presence of PMK and the Left who have a captive vote bank.
Jayalalithaa still has a lot of charisma and with the Lankan Tamil issue expected to become a major poll plank, the AIADMK is sure to get over the 2004 nightmare. Sensing a kill, Jaya had undertaken a fast on March 9 for Lankan Tamils and sought an immediate ceasefire between the Lankan army and the LTTE. Pro-Tamil partners PMK and MDMK both hailed the fast and the subsequent raising of Rs21.2 crore in a single day as relief.
A shrewd politician in the mould of a chess player who anticipates opponents’ moves, Jayalalithaa launched the fund collection drive on the day of her fast by personally contributing Rs5 lakh. Her step to immediately hand over the money to Red Cross created a lot of goodwill among the electorate.
DMK has roped in VCK, a pro-harijan party, and given it the reserved constituencies of Villupuram and Chidambaram, and allotted Vellore to IUML, but the party has a tough task on hand, with AIADMK lining up charismatic leaders such as Vaiko and Ramadoss. DMK made a desperate bid to rope in Vijaykanth’s DMDK, which is expected to swing at least 5% votes, but in vain.
Political analysts feel DMDK’s non-alignment policy won’t cause much harm as he would end up dividing votes of both alliances. But if he had aligned with one or the other, that particular alliance would have had a clear edge.
Adding to DMK’s woes is its ailing campaigner M Karunanidhi. The CM who turns 86 on June 3 recently underwent a surgery and cannot move without a wheelchair. Also, industrial pockets such as Coimbatore are reeling from heavy power cuts and this could go against DMK, adding to anti-incumbency.
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