Though the AIADMK leadership is yet to disclose the party’s strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and who would be its prospective alliance partners in Tamil Nadu, many fringe groups have come out with details of the ruling party’s would-be allies.
“The AIADMK is certain to form a winning alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. We are in discussions with parties which stand for the welfare of Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK would be the leader of the alliance which we are forming,” said O Panneerselvam, deputy chief minister and convener of the AIADMK leadership while speaking to reporters at Madurai on Wednesday. No amount of cajoling by the reporters could make the Deputy CM to reveal the parties with whom the AIADMK is in dialogue.
He said the elected representatives (MLAs, PMs included) and the district secretaries of the AIADMK would meet at Chennai on Friday and a picture would emerge by the next day. But the CPI, former allies of the AIADMK declared on Wednesday that the BJP and AIADMK are going to forge an alliance. “It does not require any intelligence to understand that the AIADMK and the BJP have already forged an alliance for the elections. We all know that the Edappadi Palaniswamy Government in Tamil Nadu is the minion of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” said Mutharasan, State secretary, CPI.
While Mutharasan churned out details of the alliance to be formed in Tamil Nadu by the AIADMK and the BJP, he was silent about the combination of parties to be led by the DMK.
According to Mutharasan, the PMK led by Dr S Ramadoss and the DMDK of Vijayakanth too will figure in AIADMK front. But leaders of the PMK and the DMDK remained tight lipped about it. Vijayakanth is undergoing treatment in a US hospital and his close relations including wife Premalatha are attending to him.
Narayanan Thiruppati, spokesman of the BJP said that he was in the dark about the BJP-AIADMK alliance except what Mutharasan was telling. Later in the day, Thol Thirumavalavan, founder of the VCK, a fringe outfit also declared that the AIADMK had formed a coalition with the BJP for the Lok Sabha election. But he was silent about the number of seats to be allocated by the DMK to the VCK.
Though the DMK has almost firmed up a rainbow alliance in Tamil Nadu which include the Congress, the Lefts, the VCK and the Islamist parties, party chief Stalin has not disclosed the number of seats to be contested by his party itself. Sam Rajappa, veteran columnist who enjoys good rapport with the DMK leadership is of the view that the party may contest in at least 25 seats out of the total 39 seats which are in stake from the State.
“Stalin wants to play a major role in New Delhi in the post-election scenario and he should have at least 25 seats to make his words heard in the national capital,” said Sam Rajappa. He said a clear picture of the BJP-AIADMK alliance would emerge after the Prime Minister’s visit to Tamil Nadu scheduled for next week.
Meanwhile the counters of the AIADMK office have started selling application forms for those who wish to contest as the party candidates. Each application is priced Rs 25,000/- and the first day saw the sale of 250 applications. The applications are available till February 10.