The leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and founder of the DMDK, Vijayakanth is in a Catch-22 situation. He is finding himself helpless to take disciplinary action against party MlAs who keep on snubbing him and dare him to take any kind of legal action against them. At each and every opportunity, the dissident MlAs make fun of Vijayakanth.
It all began when seven MlAs belonging to his party flouted the whip issued during last month’s election to Rajya Sabha and voted for the candidates fielded by the AIADMK. AR Elangovan, the DMDK candidate, could muster only 22 votes though the effective strength of the party is 29. Once the election was over, Vijayakanth issued showcause notice to all the seven dissident DMDK MlAs asking them to furnish explanation why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for violating the party whip and voting for the AIADMK front.
The dissident MlAs not only ignored the showcause notice but approached the Election Commission with a request that disciplinary proceedings be initiated against Vijayakanth for issuing whip at the time of the Rajya Sabha election. The seven MlAs argue that the issue of whip during the Rajya Sabha election was tantamount to exert undue influence and was punishable under Section 171 C of the IPC.
The rebel MlAs argue that the Commission itself had made it known during the 2012 Presidential election that as per Section 171 A(b) of the IPC, every elector had the right to vote or not to vote. Though political parties are free to seek votes for any candidates, they do not have the right to issue any direction or whip to their members to vote in a particular manner or not to vote.
Vijayakanth became the leader of the Opposition because the DMDK with 29 members emerged as the runner-up in the 2011 Assembly polls. The DMK led by M Karunanidhi finished a poor third with 23 members. The revolt by the seven MlAs has already brought the strength of the DMDK to 22. “Three more MlAs are waiting for the opportune moment to cross over to the dissidence camp,” a prominent DMDK MlA confided to The Pioneer.
If Vijayakanth expels the seven MlAs, he would lose his position as the leader of Opposition. Either Karunanidhi or Stalin may walk away with the position leaving Vijayakanth in a no-man’s land. The term beleaguered party chief is best exemplified by Vijayakanth, who squandered away the opportunity to consolidate his position in Tamil Nadu politics. Though in the 2006 Assembly elections, his party won just one seat, the tally rose to 29 in the 2011 Assembly elections when he contested the poll as an alliance partner of the AIADMK.
After the election, Vijayakanth declared in the House that the AIADMK won the 2011 polls only because of the DMDK. That was too much for CM Jayalalithaa who has seen many political battles. Interestingly, the disintegration of the DMDK started immediately after the claim made by Vijayakanth. But the DMDK leader failed to see the writing on the wall and continued his tirade against Jayalalithaa.
The AIADMK played it “cool” by filing a series of defamation cases against Vijayakanth in courts across the State from Kanyakumari to Chennai. Nowadays, most of his time is occupied by traveling from one court to another. If he fails to appear before the court, he faces the embarrassment of being issued non-bailable warrants.
Though he could have grilled the AIADMK Government on many counts, the DMDK leader wasted the opportunities. On the other side, DMK leaders Karunanidhi and Stalin were groping in the dark for issues with which they could fight AIADMK. “Had Vijayakanth maintained the decorum in his relations with the AIADMK, he would have managed to win a Rajya Sabha seat as well as a lot of political good will. He was taught a lesson by Jayalalithaa by ensuring the defeat of the DMDK candidate during last month’s Rajya Sabha poll. There are talks of Vijayakanth entering into an alliance with the DMK for the 2014 lok Sabha elections. That is going to be the most hilarious scenario. Vijayakanth, who describes himself as the Black MGR (in reverence to the original MGR, the founder of the AIADMK), If he joins hands with Karunanidhi, he would be surrendering MGR’s legacy at the feet of Karunanidhi, the bête noir of MGR,” said BR Haran, political commentator.