nAs the countdown for the assembly election began in Tamil Nadu, the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK have adopted a defensive posture to ward off any possible erosion of votes in the coming days. The aggressive postures of both the parties have given way to sense of caution.
A possible patch up between the AIADMK and the breakaway Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhakam (AMMK) launched by TTV Dhinakaran have gained momentum by Friday following a derogatory statement made by Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of DMK president M K Stalin.
While addressing an election rally, Udhayanidhi made vulgar comments about Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy and V K Sasikala, the jailed aide to late J Jayalalithaa. Though mainstream media did not report the same, the video of Udhayanidhi’s speech went viral in the social media.
The Chennai Police on Monday registered cases against Udhayanidhi under various sections of the IPC, Information Technology Act and Tamil Nadu
Prohibition of Women Harassment Act.
Activists of the DMK, who belong to the Thevar community too took strong objection to the words of Udhayanidhi and a prominent community member has posted a social media message against the scion of the Karunanidhi family. Senior AIADMK leaders, who did not want to be named, said that efforts were on to patch up with the Sasikala faction. Sasikala is expected to be released from jail on January 27, her lawyer S Pandian had disclosed recently.
There are reports that Dhinakaran who is heading the AMMK have started talks with AIADMK leaders at the instance of common friends and well wishers. “This possibility could not be ruled out. There is a feeling among both the factions that they should fight the election together,” said Kolahala Srenivaasan, author and political commentator.
Stalin, who was holding Gram Sabhas across the villages in Tamil Nadu had to put such interactions on hold after a woman created a ruckus in one of the meetings held in Coimbatore district. Poongodi, reportedly an activist of the AIADMK, asked questions which irritated the DMK chief who asked her to go out of the meeting. The woman was beaten up by the DMK cadre and police had to intervene to save her.
The possibility of the DMK forging an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi MP and president of the AIMIM looks bleak as the latter felt humiliated by Stain’s action of inviting him for the January 6 public meeting and later asking him to stay off.
Talks are going on between Kamal Haassan’s MNM and Owaisi to forge a third front in the State.
There is a likelihood of Thirumavalavan of the VCK, who pleads with Dalits to get converted to Islam, to join the Kamal-Owaisi front if the DMK refuses to allocate the number of seats which the former had demanded.
Mani Shankar Iyer, Congress leader had said on Sunday that his party would accept whatever seats are allocated to it by the DMK. “It would be unrealistic for us to expect more seats than we got last time,” said Iyer at a time when other alliance partners like the VCK, MDMK and the Islamic outfits are pressurizing the DMK for more seats.
The BJP made it known on Monday that Edappadi Palaniswamy would be the chief ministerial candidate of the AIADMK and the Hindutwa party would extend full support to him. This was stated by BJP’s Tamil Nadu observer C T Ravi.