Following a public spat, AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa dealt a heavy blow to her estranged ally DMDK chief Vijayakanth on Tuesday by weaning away his close associate Ibrahim Rowther, a filmmaker, and hundreds of functionaries of his party.
This poaching, though not uncommon among
political parties in Tamil Nadu, proves the collapse of the AIADMK-DMDK alliance is complete.
The break-up was imminent last week after a verbal clash in the assembly between Vijayakanth and Jayalalithaa, who is also Tamil Nadu chief minister, though strains of separation were visible in last October when the captain (as Vijayakanth is referred to) fought the civic body polls on his own.
On Tuesday, a beaming Jayalalithaa welcomed Rowther, a person who played a major role in Vijayakanth’s film career and one of the founding members of the DMDK, and several other key party functionaries like secretary (election wing) K Jagaveerapandiyan and secretary (medical wing) Dr Pari.