Tamil Nadu headed for multi-cornered contest in Lok Sabha polls

The 2019 Parliament elections will be the biggest test for all parties to prove their own strength after the demise of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and the inaction of DMK president M Karunanidhi. 

It offers hope for the national parties, besides the other regional players who were unable to make a mark in the bipolar battle between the two towering personalities for decades. These two factors are two major reasons for the rising count of battle fronts for the general elections.

The ruling AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa won 37 seats in the 2014 elections but now are in total disarray with no charismatic leaders at the helm. However, the party leaders are confident of leading an alliance in the parliamentary elections even though it seems isolated with no allies now.

AIADMK spokesperson Jawahar Ali dismissed the notion that the party is isolated and said new developments take place as the elections draw near. 

“The party is not dependent on national parties for alliance since both the BJP and Congress are hated by the people. Both of them have betrayed the people on many issues. However, the poll alliances are not decided by principles alone and it is formulated to win the elections. Last minute changes take place in every alliance. Parties which had alliance negotiations with the AIADMK had switched to the DMK front at the eleventh hour and vice-versa.”

The DMK too had undergone a leadership change and it is certain to lead a major front to which the MDMK had committed itself. Actor Rajinikanth is likely to form another front, while Dhinakaran and PMK are gearing up to cobble alliances under their leadership. Besides, these five fronts, more alliances could arise depending on the decisions taken by Congress, VCK, Actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiyam and Left parties.

In a multi-cornered race, votes are expected to scatter among all the parties and the strength of all the parties will be tested. Besides, the winner, the slots to be occupied by each party, their vote share and areas of influence will form the basis of future course of politics in Tamil Nadu.