Chennai: You could use flashy phrases such as 'Chip of the Old Block’ and ‘Like Father, Like Son’-or even the desi ‘Puliyin kutti Poonaiyaga irukkuma’ (Can a tiger's cub be a cat?)-to describe Vijayaprabhakaran, the son of DMDK chief Vijayakanth. How else would you diagnose the 'robust' high-decibel speech the rustically handsome young man made at the public rally at Kumbakonam on Friday?
"They are saying Vijayakanth is unwell and the DMDK has only two per cent vote share. Why then are they lining up before our door pleading for alliance?" thundered the son of Captain while the fans cheered lustily. He said it would be impossible for anyone to gain power at the Centre without Vijayakanth's support.
"A lion is a lion even if it's inside a cave", he said implying that his father remains a big force even if he is unwell and confined to the house. "Vijayakanth will come only as a lion. Only the pigs come as a flock and some are like that", he went on, much like the father, who would not mince words while lashing out at his rivals; or hesitate to deliver a whack when a follower irritates him, even if he happens to be the party candidate on poll campaign.
Claiming that farming in Cauvery delta had drastically fallen over the years from 58 per cent to a mere seven per cent now, Vijayaprabhakaran declared that his father would restore the farmers' glory in the Cauvery belt when he comes to power. "There will be no future for the state if Vijayakanth government is not there. We must bring to power a leader who will demand and secure the rights of Tamil Nadu. Vijayakanth is not like the present lot who remain mum. And also, he is the only one among the current leaders who cannot be faulted for any mistakes", he said.
His mother Premalathaa too spoke in almost similar tone at a brief media interaction at Chennai on Friday, exuding confidence that the DMDK would ultimately be part of a 'winning alliance' and her husband would announce the party's decision in about a week after completing consultations with the poll committee. The DMDK should not be brushed aside as party of waning public support, she insisted.
It remains to be seen how the 'senior' political leaders in the state, particularly those in the AIADMK-BJP alliance, are going to respond to the rhetoric of Junior Captain; and how their co-existence would fare in the coming weeks should the DMDK be part of one major alliance or the other.
