Is there a bid to drive a wedge between DMK and VCK?

Thirumavalavan had to come out with a statement reaffirming his party’s loyalty to the secular alliance, in whose formation the VCK played a prominent role in 2017. Since the VCK was part of the efforts to forge the alliance to counter the surge of communalism, the party would remain in the fold, he said in yet another bid to put an end to the skepticism raised in the media and outside of it.

Routine and trivial differences with the DMK were being blown out of proportion, giving rise to rumours of the two allies parting ways, particularly after actor Vijay, at the launch conference of his new party, the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) recently, had agreed to share power with allies if elected to form government. The VCK had raised the issue specifically recently but later claimed that it was its ever-green aspiration.

So, though the blame is placed on forces that were inimical to the idea of the DMK and VCK fighting elections hand in hand for the frequent eruption of rumours on the split, it should be remembered that it was the VCK that initially showed signs of belligerence when Chief Minister M K Stalin was in the USA. By vociferously demanding the implementation of Prohibition and even declaring that the party did not care about the alliance, the VCK sent across the message that it was not happy being in the alliance.

But when the VCK top leaders called on Stalin as soon as he returned to Chennai, they changed their stand on prohibition by demanding a national level policy on it and reaffirmed their ties. However, the spinoff of what was seen as a rebellion – a perception of the VCK wanting to demand a share in power – came to stay and refused to go despite several attempts to shrug it off.

So, whenever someone from the VCK says something that sounds of a resentment over the way an issue was handled by the government or like an assertion, the rumour mills start whirring on an impending split, prompting the media to respond instantly by raising the question with Thirumavalavan directly or organizing a debate by calling in people from diverse political moorings.

Since the launch of the TVK, there is a widespread expectation, in general, of a political churning in the State with speculations on the allies of the ruling front drifting apart and joining hands with the new party to explore the possibilities of defeating the DMK front.

With many believing that the future of Tamil Nadu’s electoral politics was hinged to the unseating of the DMK from the throne, attempts are being made to prompt a political realignment by breaking the ruling front that now seemed to be an invincible force, some supporters of the ruling front claim.

On the other hand, the VCK, too, has become more aggressive in its politicking that it held a massive conference at Trichy and then an anti-liquor meeting in Kallakurichi, drawing the attention of the people and projecting itself as a political force to reckon with.

Such a situation triggers speculations that are at times passed off as truth, confusing not just the people but also the parties involved.