DMDK, TMC may struggle to find allies

One of the sought-after parties in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2016 Assembly elections, the DMDK and the TMC have gone on political vanavas when other parties are busy reviving soured ties and confirming alliances with big players for the ensuing Lok Sabha and bypolls.

Vijayakanth, who was the chief ministerial candidate of the six-party PWF (People’s Welfare Front) in 2016, has appointed his wife Premalatha as party treasurer and ‘retired’ from the political mainstream. In the same vein, Vasan’s TMC was struggling to secure news space let alone staying relevant. Meanwhile, the two left parties and the VCK, which had proposed the idea of a third front in 2016, have conveniently sided with the DMK for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections knowing full well that the Dravidian major has an edge over an unpopular and divided AIADMK.

While Premalatha was busy coping with her husband’s health and making DMDK relevant, an ambitious Vasan is waiting for the political winds to change direction, more so when smart national bosses of CPI and CPM have visited Stalin and swore loyalty to the DMK.

Political analyst Ravindran Doraisamy attributed the near obliteration of the two parties to the rise of the AMMK and said, “After Edappadi K Palaniswami and MK Stalin, Dhinakaran has emerged as the third leader and eaten into the space of the DMDK and the TMC. Vote share of the TMC and the DMDK has reduced from 20 per cent (two decades ago) and 10 per cent to around 2 per cent now and hence the reduced demand for them. The PMK is the only party which has managed to retain its 5 per cent votes consistently for three decades.”

“The PMK is banking on anti-Dravidian party votes. So, the only option it has is Dhinakaran’s AMMK, which does not have Dravidian in its banner,” Doraisamy remarked, predicting more than tri-cornered contest in the ensuing elections.

TMC youth wing state president M Yuvaraj said; “We are very active on field, but we are being blacked out by the media. In the whole PWF, TMC is the only party to have not taken sides.”

“One per cent votes could swing poll fortunes in the ensuing election. We will tilt the balance in 2019. We have not less than 5,000 assured votes per constituency. It would be a loss to parties overlooking us,” Yuvaraj added. Forecasting tectonic political realignments in the next few months, Yuvaraj cited the DMK leadership’s reluctance in publicly asserting Congress party’s presence in its alliance and the wavering statements of MDMK leader Vaiko who has been ‘praising’ the ruling AIADMK since last week. Ironically, no major party has bothered to even factor in a low-profile DMDK in their poll arithmetic for the impending elections.