CHENNAI: Even while Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa has sounded the poll bugle with a call for public meetings to highlight her government’s achievements, the opposition parties are in disarray with each of them pulling in different directions and some even losing touch with the people.
The main opposition DMK is finding it hard to get allies and actor Vijayakant’s party has not actively begun mobilising people against the AIADMK. While PMK is moving in isolation, the Left parties and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi are charting an adventurous course and the other parties like the MDMK and BJP remain undecided.
Dismissing the dismal scenario and lack of poll preparedness, DMK organising secretary and spokesperson TKS Elangovan, said “The AIADMK has woken up only now and announced public meetings, but the DMK has been holding such meetings and mass contact programmes from the birthday of party treasurer MK Stalin in March. It is being continued with the birthday celebrations of Kalaignar (DMK president M Karunanidhi) from June throughout the State. The celebrations and meetings are for the purpose of exposing the misdeeds of the ruling party to the people, besides highlighting the feats of the DMK. We have started our election campaign six months ago”. He also rejected suggestions that the DMK is unable to find allies for the forthcoming Assembly elections. “Parties may not be willing to commit themselves to the DMK alliance now. But, the process of alliance formation will gain pace once the elections announced. Is there any party which is not opposing the AIADMK now? By January, the process of alliance formation will start”, he asserted.
However, a DMDK functionary agreed that his party was yet to plan and prepare for the elections. He said “We have not begun the poll preparations as the elections are more than ten months away. It will be too early to start an election campaign. Captain is interacting with the public often and mingled with the people in the metro train and he took part in the international yoga day programme. The party will move to poll mode with the birthday celebration of our leader on August 25”. But, Vijayakant has not yet decided on remaining in the BJP front or joining the DMK alliance. Procrastination on his part, as he had done during alliance negotiations for the 2014 LS elections, would further throw the opposition blcok into chaos and inaction. The opposition unity index has dipped to an all time low and the situation does not seem to be different from the 2014 LS polls swept by the AIADMK. As so now, the picture appears to be rosy for the ruling AIADMK, which has the advantage of calling elections anytime at it its own choosing.
