CHENNAI/MADURAI: After negotiating through tricky political arena, disregarding offers from various sides, DMDK founder-leader Vijayakant on Wednesday finally decided to face Tamil Nadu elections with the four-party People’s Welfare Alliance.
The move came a month after he declared in Kancheepuram that he would rather be king than kingmaker, and two weeks after he announced his decision to go solo. With Vijayakant as chief ministerial candidate, the alliance would win this election and form a coalition government, PWA convenor Vaiko told the media after the meeting.
When leaders of the PWA walked into DMDK headquarters at Koyambedu on Wednesday morning to formally seal the deal, it ended days of secret parleys between the two, months of speculation about DMDK’s alliance moves and doubts about PWA’s apparent instability; it would also prod other parties to hasten their pre-poll preparations.
As per the alliance’s deal Vijayakant, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing House, will be the chief ministerial candidate of the five-party ‘Third Front’, one that its members termed Pandavas.
While the DMDK would contest in 124 of the total 234 constituencies, the MDMK, VCK, CPM and CPI would share the remaining 110 seats. Sources said the next round of talks to identify seats would begin in two days.
Noting the rumours doing the rounds that he had taken a decision on the alliance after taking money, Vijayakant said: “I have been reiterating that I will be on the side of the people, and now I am standing with the People’s Welfare Alliance.”
MDMK general secretary Vaiko, who was rumoured to be unconvinced about the tie-up, was most elated among the leaders, applauding, and cheering as Vijayakant spoke. “The People’s Welfare Alliance would be rechristened Vijayakant Alliance,” Vaiko added for good measure. Taking off from CPI State secretary R Mutharasan’s Pandava reference with Vijayakant as Dharma, himself as Arjuna and Thirumavalavan as Bhima, Vaiko said: “We Arjuna and Bhima are on his sides, this is my message to all who unleash slur on us.”
“This is the alliance people have been expecting; it will provide the alternative and it will be an alliance of success,” said Thirumavalavan.
Political analysts Express spoke to said the coming together of PWA and DMDK is a significant development, as a political alliance that could actually be termed the ‘Third Front’ to take on the two Dravidian majors has now taken shape for the first time since 1989 when influential Congress leader GK Moopanar formed an ‘alternative’.
However, a back of the envelope calculation of their vote-share raises questions about the alliance managing anything spectacular as claimed by its leaders, though analysts feel it could still be the deciding factor in many constituencies.
Pointing out that a strong third front divides the votes against the incumbent, AR Venkatachalapathy, professor, Madras Institute of Developmental Studies, said it was a big setback to DMK which had created a perception it would capture power in alliance with DMDK.
Striking a contrarian note, another analyst, Gnani Sankaran said that the long-drawn attempts to draw in the DMDK may take a toll on the credibility of the alliance. Criticising the decision by the PWA to align with DMDK, he said it was political suicide, which postponed the possibility of an alternative taking shape for the next decade.