CHENNAI: MDMK leader Vaiko is set to enter Parliament again after 15 years. As part of the Lok Sabha poll pact, DMK had offered a Rajya Sabha seat for MDMK. He will be one of the candidates from DMK-led alliance contesting for a Rajya Sabha seat from the State in the elections scheduled for July 18.
Known for his oratory skills, the last time Vaiko won a parliamentary election was in 1999. He then won from Sivakasi Lok Sabha constituency as part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. He lost the next two elections in Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 and 2014. MDMK cadre are jubilant that their leader is set to return to Parliament after a long gap and hope he will make the party’s presence felt at the national level.
However, the point of contention is whether he would contest as a candidate of MDMK or DMK. He will be winning the elections mostly by the votes of DMK MLAs. So, it is anticipated that the DMK might ask him to contest as its candidate. In such a scenario, the advantage for DMK will be that Vaiko will have to function under control of DMK’s whip or face disqualification. The MDMK candidate, who contested in Erode as part of DMK-led alliance, contested on DMK’s ‘rising sun’ symbol.
But this time, MDMK seems to be insisting that Vaiko should contest as a candidate of their own party. Speaking to Express, a senior party functionary said, “In the Lok Sabha polls we contested on DMK’s symbol since it was difficult to popularise a new symbol among voters. In Rajya Sabha polls only the elected representatives will be voting. So there is no need to contest as a DMK candidate.” Incidentally, Vaiko will be the first Rajya Sabha MP since MDMK was launched in 1994.