CHENNAI: People often associate DMDK with ‘Captain’ Vijayakant’s fiery speeches filled with interludes of haughty laughter. However, this election season it is feared the party may not have Vijayakant’s active campaigning. This is mainly due to his health condition, leaders say.
The DMDK cadre seem to be slowly coming to terms with this as the party is all set to contest four parliamentary constituencies as part of the AIADMK-led alliance.
“He is definitely going to come for campaigns and he will speak. Is he as inactive as the former chief ministers?” retorted a top DMDK leader snarkily, when asked how the party plans to lure voters without Vijayakant’s active campaigning.
Like the high command, cadre in the lower rungs of the party hierarchy also displayed the same denial, but minus the arrogance. “Captain will come and campaign. He is much better now and will speak in meetings,” said a functionary from Tiruvannamalai.
Even after conceding that Vijayakant will not be able to turn back time and have the same effect on crowds if he speaks, this functionary who has been loyal to his leader from his mandram days said Vijayakant’s very presence at meetings will translate into votes.
However, it is a rung of senior leaders who had been called to attend interviews for the four seats the party is going to contest, that are displaying signs of panic and worry. “We told the high command we don’t want to attend the interview, but they asked us to come anyway,” said a leader from western part of State on Wednesday.
“We don’t want to invest in running for an election,” an associate of the leader said, explaining that spending money for a campaign which will not receive Captain’s active campaigning is like burning money.
It is learnt that the party received only around 300 willingness letters to contest elections. Former DMDK MLA V C Chandrakumar, who had predicted the weakening of the party while seceding from it in 2016 said there is no way the party can recreate electoral success without Vijayakant. “DMDK is Captain and Captain is DMDK,” he said, blaming Premalatha and Sudheesh for bringing the party to this state.
Political observers also noted DMDK is a “personality based” party and that politically or otherwise Vijayakant cannot reclaim his ‘hero’ image. “Vijayakant has lost his ability to spontaneously arouse crowds with his voice and his party is an alliance with PMK, which it aggressively took on in their home turf,” said Ravindran Duraisamy, explaining that being the weakest link in the alliance is worse than defeat and has made the hero image irretrievable.