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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: AIADMK faces the heat as coalition partners missing from campaign trail
Tamil Nadu went to polls for 38 Lok Sabha seats and 18 assembly seats on April 18. However, four more assembly seats -- Thirupparankundram, Aravakkurichi, Sulur and Ottappidaram - are set to go to polls on May 19. According to the understanding arrived at between the alliance partners, AIADMK would contest 20 of the Lok Sabha seats and all the assembly seats headed for polls.
The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) which has been highlighting how it is heading a grand alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and by-polls to 22 vacant assembly seats, is facing the heat as its alliance partners are yet to start jointly campaigning for it in the remaining four assembly seats. These seats will go to polls on May 19.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, AIADMK had tied up with several parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), S Ramadoss’s Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), actor A Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK) and GK Vasan’s Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) among them.
Tamil Nadu went to polls for 38 Lok Sabha seats and 18 assembly seats on April 18. However, four more assembly seats -- Thirupparankundram, Aravakkurichi, Sulur and Ottappidaram - are set to go to polls on May 19. According to the understanding arrived at between the alliance partners, AIADMK would contest 20 of the Lok Sabha seats and all the assembly seats headed for polls.
Although the AIADMK has been aggressively campaigning for the remaining four assembly seats, leaders of none of its alliance partners are seen on the campaign trail. Though AIADMK leaders, including CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvan have been campaigning on behalf of party candidates, BJP state leader Tamilisai Sounderrarajan, PMK founder S Ramadoss, and neither DMDK chief Vijayakanth or party treasurer Premalatha Vijayakanth have been seen on the campaign trail yet.
According to analysts this is believed to be because the alliance partners are miffed at AIADMK’s lack of support and enthusiasm during the LS polls on the seats they contested.
By-polls to these four seats were needed as in both Thiruppparankundram (AK Bose) and Sulur (Kanagaraj) the MLA’s belonging to the ruling party died in office. Ottappidaram and Aravakkurichi are facing elections since the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly speaker P Dhanapal had disqualified the AIADMK MLAs for owing allegiance to TTV Dhinakaran, a rebel leader.
The non-arrival of alliance leaders to the poll ground to campaign for the ruling party candidates has made the AIADMK leaders and workers unhappy. “Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s alliance partners, including MDMK leader Vaiko, Congress leader P Chidambaram, CPI and CPI (M) leaders are campaigning for DMK’s candidates. But, for AIADMK, it is only our leaders Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and O Panneerselvam (OPS) who are campaigning for our candidates” pointed out an AIADMK Madhuri block union secretary, who did not want to be identified.
BJP state secretary Karu Nagarajan, however, dismissed talk of any rift between alliance partners, saying absence of his party’s state leaders was primarily because they had gone to other parts of the country to campaign for the party.
“Since PM Narendra Modi is contesting from Varanasi, a few leaders including Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, former state president CP Radhakrishnan and national secretary H Raja have gone to Varanasi and other parts in northern India. So, we are unable to campaign here. Meanwhile, we have appointed a team of election workers headed by a BJP observer for all the four seats,” Nagarajan informed.
However some of the leaders of AIADMK alliance parties say they are only returning the ‘favour’ as the ruling party was unenthusiastic in supporting candidates of alliance parties.
A DMDK leader, who did not want to be identified, from the Virudhunagar district, where DMDK contested under the AIADMK alliance, said that they received lukewarm support from the AIADMK leaders and workers.
“Many AIADMK leaders did not take part in our candidate’s campaign in Virudhunagar LS seat. Then how can they expect our support now?” he questioned.
When contacted, V Elangovan, DMDK’s Presidium chairman, said that they have not intentionally avoided campaigning for the AIADMK candidates in the four assembly seats.
“Since we have intra-party work, we have not been able to go to the campaign. Our leader Vijayakanth is not in good health. Therefore, he had not campaigned even for the Lok Sabha polls. DMDK treasurer Premalatha will do her campaigns for the by-polls. We have a cordial relationship with AIADMK,” he told HT.
TSRM Subramanian, Deputy President, PMK claimed that the party workers on the ground were campaigning for AIADMK in all the four constituencies.
“If our founder Ramadoss goes for the campaign, then the election expenditure will be a burden for candidates. Therefore second level leaders are campaigning for AIADMK candidates. If needed our leader will also campaign,” said Subramanian.
When asked whether there was an issue in the alliance, RM Babu Murugavel, AIADMK spokesperson and former legislator refuted the charge. “AIADMK has formed a formidable alliance. As our alliance is strong and winning one, the opposition is clutching at straws and is speculating that we are having internal differences. The election commission has allowed that campaigns can be done until May 17. So, wait and see all our alliance partners will come for the campaigns,” Murugavel said..
According to Aazhi Senthilnathan, a political analyst, the alliance leaders are not keen on campaigning as all the 22 vacant assembly seats are being contested by AIADMK.
“If we take the LS polls, PMK concentrated on only seven LS seats where it was contesting from. Likewise, the DMDK focused on its four LS seats. Since AIADMK is contesting all the assembly by-polls, leaders of alliance parties understandably could be reluctant to campaign for the ruling party,” said Senthilnathan.
