Speculation rife as Sarath Kumar meets Vijayakant

The meeting took place at Vijayakant’s house in Virugambakkam. DMDK deputy secretary and brother-in-law of Vijayakant LK Sudhish accompanied them. Both the actor-turned-politicians shared some of their lighter moments and Sarath Kumar after inquiring the health of Vijayakant discussed politics and alliance with him.

“We discussed politics in general. I obtained their (DMDK’s) views on electoral alliance and I have also informed my stand on alliance. However, the final decision should be taken by Vijayakant,” said Sarath Kumar, while addressing reporters after the meeting.

The meeting between both the politicians had kicked off various speculations in the political circles, particularly after Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam sounded confident that they will bring the DMDK into their alliance and there was no problem in alliance talks.

Though Sarath Kumar has not yet announced his decision on alliance, he had previously criticised the AIADMK-BJP alliance and said that he will not be part of alliance that has BJP in it. It is also well-known news in the political circles that Sarath Kumar was holding talks with Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). 

Under these circumstances the meeting had created a buzz among AIADMK leaders, who are now worried that the DMDK might slip out of their alliance and they have further accelerated the process of alliance talks.

However, the DMDK sources said that Vijayakant is likely to go with the AIADMK as going with AMMK would be a risk and the DMDK, which is continuously witnessing a downward trend in the past two elections will not take the risk of missing the alliance with the AIADMK.

Also, the DMDK gained the status of a state party only after aligning with the AIADMK and so it will prefer an alliance with the ruling party, said sources.

After the meeting with Sarath Kumar, Vijayakant, though a press communique, said that an urgent high-level meeting would be conducted on Tuesday, at the party head office, in Koyambedu. All eyes are set on the meeting as it is expected that the DMDK will announce its alliance immediately after the meeting or on the next day, when Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visits Chennai. According to the DMDK sources, Modi wanted Vijayakant along with other alliance partners to share the stage with him after confirming the alliance in the Chennai meeting. So the AIADMK leaders will be pushing for confirmation of alliance by stepping up the talks.