Chennai: The Tamil Maanila Congress, led by G K Vasan, is seemingly gravitating towards the AIADMK and not the BJP, as it was perceived by many, if one were to go by the writings on the walls of Annanagar in Chennai on Monday.
The appearance of posters, pasted on electricity transformers and junction boxes across Annanagar (putting them up on walls is banned), with prominently displayed photographs of Vasan and also AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami made it clear where the TMC heading to in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.
The poster, brought out by a TMC functionary S Shyam Sundar announcing the wedding reception of a relative, also had the iconic mug shots of G K Moopanar and K Kamaraj on one side and that of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa on the other side of the poster’s title, ‘Tamil Maanila Congress.’
Welcoming G K Vasan to the reception, the poster also welcomed AIADMK leaders S Gokula Indira and T G Venkatesh Babu and had their photographs, too. But what made it striking was the huge photo of Palaniswami on the right side with Vasan smiling from the left side.
Though Palaniswami was not attending the reception on Monday – he was in Salem – his photograph was printed, indicating that the party saw the AIADMK as a partner. There was no name or photograph of any leader from the BJP, which was an indicator that the TMC had no plans to align with the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections.
When Vasan called on Palaniswami a couple of days ago, triggering speculations on a tie-up, it was squashed with a clarification that he had gone as a peace maker trying to bring AIADMK back into the BJP fold.
But the poster put up by a functionary of the TMC only gave credence to the rumours of a possible tie-up with the AIADMK and confirming that TMC would not join hands with the BJP.
AIADMK sources dismissed the speculations, saying that the particular local functionary might have invited his ‘friends’ in the former alliance party, say Gokula Indira and Venkatesh Babu, for the wedding reception and printed their photographs on the poster due to personal admiration.
If that was so, what was the need to have pictures of Palaniswami, MGR and Jayalalithaa, who could not be termed as personal friends, in the poster.
