Poll time issues rear head in both camps

Leaders of the VCK, the MDMK, the CPI and the CPM have visited DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam in recent days not only to thank party president M K Stalin, but also to express their anguish at a few of its functionaries not extending the desired cooperation. 

The allies had also discussed the preparations for the May 19 Assembly bypolls, understandably, to make sure that the friction suffered during the Lok Sabha campaign does not have a bearing on the upcoming bypolls, which could determine the continuance of the incumbent government. 

The scenario was much worse on the other side of the political aisle. In the AIADMK front, the allies have not even met since the Parliamentary election. Worse, the leaders have elicited the views of their respective candidates to ascertain if they had received desired cooperation from the allies. 

A meeting organised by DMDK treasurer Premalatha Vijayakanth this week was a case in point. Her brother L K Sudhish, who contested in Kallakurichi, was among the contestants who had vented anger against the AIADMK for selectively working on their constituencies and the 18 Assembly seats that went for polls last week. Premalatha was even understood to have voiced against the continuance of the alliance, citing the poor cooperation from the AIADMK. 

Grapevine has it that the frustrated DMDK candidates had even proposed going it alone in Sulur, Aravakurichi, Tiruparankundram and Ottapidaram. Unsurprisingly, murmurs in the DMDK quarters did not go down well with the ruling dispensation which was eyeing to make the most out of the bypolls. 

Similar discontent was felt in the state BJP camp, which had even got its national leaders to remind the AIADMK top brass about its alliance commitment after the latter was allegedly caught focussing only on the by poll bound Assembly constituencies and its own Parliamentary seats. 

Sources with knowledge of the simmering discontent in the alliance suggested that the ruling AIADMK could cool the tempers of the allies and get them to the campaign for them in the four constituencies after an informal meeting.