Discussions under way to be part of NDA, reveals Sudhish

Sudhish informed the reporters about the talks after hoisting the party flag at their office here to mark the DMDK’s Flag Day celebrations on Tuesday.

Responding to questions on alliance talks with the BJP, Sudhish said, “Yes it is true that we are in talks with the BJP. In fact, we are in talks regarding alliance with all parties, including the BJP.”

He added, “The details will be finalised and announced by the end of February.” Sudhish said Vijayakant, who was undergoing treatment in the US, was expected to return to the city soon and would make an official announcement on the alliance.

After going it alone in the 2006 Assembly poll, when Vijayakant alone managed to win from Vriddhachalam after making a grand entry into electoral politics, the DMDK allied with the AIADMK and won 29 seats in the 2011 Assembly elections and became the Principal Opposition party.

But the joy was short lived as the ties between the two parties soured after a direct verbal sparring between Vijayakant and Jayalalithaa in the state Assembly, with the latter stating that she was ashamed to have entered into an alliance with the DMDK.

It may be recalled that the DMDK was part of the umbrella alliance headed by the BJP and drew a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll and was part of the People’s Welfare Front that comprised the MDMK and the Left Parties —the CPI and the CPM —during the 2016 Assembly poll and once again faced a drubbing at the hustling.

Since then, the DMDK has been keeping a low profile, even after Vijayakant’s wife Premalatha was given a party post for the first time, when she was made the treasurer in October last year, after the party founder suffered from health related issues and went abroad for treatment.