DMDK’s Vijayakanth keeps TN parties guessing over poll alliance | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

DMDK’s Vijayakanth keeps TN parties guessing over poll alliance

Hindustan Times | By, Chennai
Jan 10, 2016 09:47 AM IST

Tamil party DMDK founder Captain Vijayakanth got his party’s nod on Saturday to take the call on whom to partner with for the state elections later this year, a decision that may tilt scales in what is currently an open contest.

Tamil party DMDK founder Captain Vijayakanth got his party’s nod on Saturday to take the call on whom to partner with for the state elections later this year, a decision that may tilt scales in what is currently an open contest.

DMDK founder Vijayakanth has kept poll-bound Tamil Nadu’s political parties guessing over who he may choose to allly with.(HT File Photo)
DMDK founder Vijayakanth has kept poll-bound Tamil Nadu’s political parties guessing over who he may choose to allly with.(HT File Photo)

Vijayakanth helped current chief minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa ride to power in 2011 before he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance for the 2014 polls.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

While the NDA believes DMDK — Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam — is still a part of the alliance, Vijayakanth is yet to make a decision on whom to contest the elections with. His demands, sources say, hinge on an ambition that he be made the CM candidate.

The DMDK is being courted by a number of political outfits. DMK supremo M Karunanidhi had invited Vijayakanth to join a front led by his party last month, at a time when the newly-formed Peoples Welfare Front comprising Left and MDMK of Vaiko was wooing the film star politician.

Vijayakanth, fully secure in the knowledge of being the kingmaker, wants one step higher. He wants to be the king himself and is believed to have told PWF leaders that he would join the front if it made him the chief ministerial candidate.

What Vijayakanth brings to the table, in any alliance, is the 10% vote share that he has garnered ever since he entered politics in 2006. On his own, there are slim chances of winning even a few seats but he has the capacity to boost the chances of the alliance he joins.

Vijayakanth had joined hands with Jayalalithaa in a meeting at the AIADMK supremo’s Poes Gardens residence. That partnership decimated Karunanidhi’s party.

Within less than a year, the actor-turned-politician parted company with Jayalalithaa.

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Mukhtar Ansari Death News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    author-default-90x90

    KV Lakshmana is the Tamil Nadu bureau chief of Hindustan Times. He covers social, economic and political changes in the state and neighbourhood.

SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On