Chennai: Different political marquees in the State bustled with hectic election related activities on Tuesday as the DMK finalized its seat allocation with the CPI and CPM, the BJP gained strength by the merger All Indian Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) of R Sarathkumar and the DMDK general secretary V Premalatha Vijayakanth sending out a veiled message of going with the AIADMK by openly opposing the implementation of the CAA.
Leaders of the CPI and CPM called on Chief Minister M K Stalin to sign agreements on the seat allocation at the Anna Arivalayam, which left the Congress alone to sit across the table and finalise the seats in the DMK-led coalition. As per the agreements signed on Tuesday, CPM would contest from Madurai and Dindigul constituencies and CPI would field candidates from Nagapattinam and Tirupur.
Once the Congress comes to the table and signs the agreement for seat allocation, the DMK would be able to wrap up the process by announcing its candidates for the various constituencies and plunge into the campaign process for the Lok Sabha polls as a clear picture would have emerged by then on who would be fighting the elections from where.
The BJP camp had reason to rejoice on Tuesday as the AISMK merged with it formally at the party headquarters in Chennai and Sarathkumar announcing that it was the beginning of public service and comparing the regime of Narendra Modi with that of the late K Kamaraj.
BJP State president K Annamalai welcomed Sarathkumar to the party and said that the move was ‘to uphold the spirit of nationalism from the Tamil soil. He said Sarathkumar had been ‘vocal about his Nationalistic thoughts through Art’ and called him ‘a man of high personal integrity and had devoted his life to the service of Tamil people.’
The AIADMK, which held a human chain agitation in urban areas across the State to protest against the rampant drug menace in the State and to point out the alleged links of ruling party functionaries to the drug smuggling cartel, had a reason to be happy as Premalatha Vijayakanth gave a vague indication that she was not planning to join the BJP-led NDA, through a statement opposing the implementation of CAA.
While the talks between the TNCC and DMK leaders are expected to happen soon, the BJP too will complete the process of seat allocation in another week’s time. The AIADMK might wait for the DMDK to make its next move and then clinch a deal with it.
As far as the PMK is concerned, it is not clear which way it would swing. It could go with the BJP if its demands were met and come back to the AIADMK.
Whatever it is, both the AIADMK and BJP are trying to make an issue out of a DMK functionary caught in connection with a drug smuggling case and gain political capital out of it. Perhaps they might use it as a poll plank, too, against the ruling DMK. For, the slogan of the AIADMK at the human chain agitation was ‘Say no to drugs, Say no to DMK.’
