AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa gave an open snubbing to the CPI by announcing the names of five of her party nominees for the June 27 biennial election to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu.
V Maithreyan, whose six-year tenure is coming to an end in July, has been re-nominated while the other nominees from the AIADMK are KR Arjunan, J Rathinavel, R lakshmanan and S Saravana Perumal. The parliamentary dreams of D Raja (CPI) suffered a setback with Jayalalithaa’s decision not to support him.
The AIADMK with 151 members in the legislative Assembly is certain to bag four seats. The party has 15 surplus votes. Jayalalithaa has solicited the support of parties like the MMK and Puthiya Tamilakam (two each) while the six-member breakaway faction of the DMDK too will vote for the AIADMK nominees. The AIADMK may still need eight more votes to ensure the smooth sailing of its fifth candidate. If the eight-member CPI group transfers their votes to the AIADMK, the fifth candidate of the party will have a smooth sailing. The CPI fought the 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections as an ally of the AIADMK.
CPI general secretary
S Sudhakar Reddy and former secretary AB Bardhan met Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi on Monday. “She told us that she had declared her candidates for five seats and hopes to win those five seats. She wished us well for the elections,” a visibly upset Bardhan told reporters after the meeting. D Pandian, CPI’s Tamil Nadu secretary, refused to make any comments on the development. But Mahendran, the assistant secretary, said the party’s alliance with the AIADMK would continue for the lok Sabha elections.
The question doing the rounds is who will win the sixth seat. Though the DMDK has 29 MlAs in the House, six have formed a separate block supporting Jayalalithaa. That leaves Vijayakanth with just 23 votes. Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi too is completing her six-year tenure in July. Unless Vijayakanth offers his support, Kanimozhi may not be able to book her flight to New Delhi. The DMK has 23 MlAs. The Congress with five members and the PMK with three members could ensure Kanimozhi a hassle-free trip to New Delhi.
If Vijayakanth offers his support to Kanimozhi, it could be the harbinger of the kind of alliance taking shape for the 2014 lok Sabha elections. A combination of the DMK, the DMDK and the Congress could be a possibility and the June 27 Rajya Sabha election will be the prelude to such a scenario.