All major political parties in Tamil Nadu see themselves in “mission mode” within hours of J Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK supremo, convening the Executive Committee and General Council meetings of her party for Thursday. The highest decision making body of the AIADMK is meeting in Chennai on Thursday to chalk out the strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Within hours of Jayalalithaa’s Monday directive to her party office bearers to meet at Chennai on the New Year Eve, the DMK leadership went into a huddle at Anna Arivalayam. After the one hour long meeting, party president M Karunanidhi invited Congress and the DMDK to join his party to fight the AIADMK in the Assembly election.
“The need of the hour is an electoral alliance like the one in Bihar where all secular and democratic forces fought together and registered a thumping victory. I am inviting the Congress and the DMDK to join the DMK as allies in the election to be held for Tamil Nadu Assembly,” Karunanidhi told reporters. He said he was re-inviting Vijayakanth and the DMDK to join him as his earlier invitation did not elicit any positive response from the actor-turned-politician.
EVKS Elangovan, president, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, thanked Karunanidhi for the invitation. “I’ll convey his message to the Congress High Command which only takes decision about the party’s alliances,” said Elangovan.
The spokesman of the TNCC, A Gopanna, told The Pioneer that the TNCC has not received any letters or phone calls from the DMK leadership. ‘The TNCC chief will inform party president about the invitation and then only we will be able to tell something,” he said.
But senior Congress leaders in the State are optimistic about the revival of the DMK-Congress ties which turned sour in 2013 after nine years of friendship. “It may be noted that there was no name calling or criticism between the two parties in spite of the fact that we contested the 2014 lok Sabha election separately,” said Earnest Paul, a senior Congress leader.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK cadre staged protest marches in some places in Tamil Nadu against DMDK leader Vijayakanth for his alleged comments against chief minister Jayalalithaa. It is also alleged that the DMDK cadre tore down a poster of Jayalalithaa at Thanjavur following which the AIADMK activists burnt the effigy of Vijayakanth. PV Selvakumar, a lawyer representing the AIADMK filed a criminal defamation case against Vijayakanth for his outburst against Jayalalithaa.
This made Jayalalithaa issue a statement asking her party cadre not to take law into their hands. She reminded the cadre that AIADMK is a civilised and disciplined party and asked them to concentrate on the work at hand. “People in Tamil Nadu will teach Vijayakanth and his party a lesson at the right time. You, my siblings should not get upset by their behaviour,” said Jayalalithaa. A leader of the AIADMK said that the party cadre got upset over “vituperative” comments about party chief Jayalalithaa made by Vijayakanth.
A prominent Congress leader told The Pioneer that the “unprecedented” tension between the AIADMK and the DMDK may force Vijayakanth to switch over his allegiance to the DMK-led front.