Clash of Dravidian titans at RK Nagar

With no formidable political alternative in the vicinity, more so after the promising PWF (People’s Welfare Front) was reduced to a nondescript third in the 2016 Assembly polls, it would be DMK versus AIADMK as usual, in the coveted Chennai seat. 

If the Sasikala- led AIADMK has the necessity to win and demonstrate that they were the rightful inheritors of Jayalalithaa’s legacy and the hatred against them was only the making of rebel AIADMK leaders in the media, the 89-MLA-strong DMK would want to wrest control of RK Nagar to sustain its campaign that the political scale has tilted in its favour in post-Jayalalithaa era. 

The recent, very public internal bickering in the AIADMK should be a shot in the arm for the DMK, which only has an incapacitated Congress in its kitty. The principal Opposition party would do well to rope in a couple of small fish in the state polity when it goes for the kill, notwithstanding the fact that the ‘alternatives’ like PWF did not create an electoral impact worth remembering by Dravidian parties’ standards at RK Nagar in 2016 when they finished a distant third, as they did in rest of the state. 

Again, who boards or gets jettisoned from the DMK bus would be a no-brainer after Saturday, when UP Assembly poll results would be out. While the DMK could breathe easy this time on the Jayalalithaa factor, even a political novice would not underestimate Sasikala’s AIADMK, which has hardly suffered a vertical split (despite OPS and his loyalists working against them) and would leave no stone unturned to increase the possibility of the government led by Edappadi K Palanisamy. 

Political commentator and writer Aazhi Senthilnathan says; “It would be the usual, tough fight between DMK and AIADMK. BJP might try to put up a show by fielding a candidate. It is unsure if a weak PWF would contest even. PWF has misused its option and it will not create much impact. Though their chances are bright, DMK would suffer if it is complacent. Stalin will find it easy if he lures the third front, which will be based on the outcome of UP polls.” 

“One should not underestimate Sasikala’s AIADMK as only a few pro-BJP and anti-Sasikala elements have left, and that too on their own. Deepa would not even be in the reckoning,” Senthilnathan added.