The Hindu : States / Tamil Nadu : Miffed allies force Jayalalithaa to put off campaign
Unhappy over what they saw as a raw deal meted out to them in allocation of constituencies, the allies of the AIADMK, barring the MDMK led by Vaiko, held discussions on Thursday to chalk out their plan of action. While the prospect of a third front was in the air, the parties said they will take a day or two to take a decision.
The strident move by her allies forced AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa to postpone her plan to embark on her election campaign on Friday.
In a statement here, the AIADMK announced that she could not go ahead with the campaign plan since seat-sharing talks with the alliance partners were not yet over.
“What is the point in talking to us when there is no concrete proposal from the AIADMK? There is no effort to rectify the mistakes. It is the attitude of the AIADMK leadership that forces us to consider other options,” the leaders of the alliance parties said when asked whether they have received any communication from the AIADMK leadership.
On Thursday morning, the two Left parties, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), led by actor Vijyakant, Puthiya Tamizhagam president K. Krishnasamy and All India Moovendhar Munnetra Munnani leader N. Sethuraman were among those who participated in the meeting. They had a second round of talks in the evening. They also decided to rope in MDMK general secretary Vaiko in their common plan.
When asked whether he had any plan to float a third front, Mr. Vijayakant said, “Don't be in a hurry. We are continuing our discussion. We will let you know our decision on Friday.”
CPI state secretary D. Pandian avoided giving a direct reply to a question on formation of a third front. All he would say was: “We are committed to defeating and removing the DMK-Congress combine. We are together in our effort,” he said. Asked whether he was ready for a compromise with the AIADMK, he retorted saying, “If you are interested you can go.”
Dr. Sethuraman hinted that a third front would not be in the interest of the alliance partners. “It will lead to the victory of the DMK in the elections,” he said.
The leaders who were part of the discussion said they were under tremendous pressure from the rank and file of the parties to form a third front since the AIADMK leadership had humiliated them.
“We don't mind her releasing the list of constituencies the AIADMK is planning to contest. But she should have held back the list of constituencies sought by the alliance partners. This has been done when we are still holding talks to finalise an agreement,” a leader said.
Another leader said, “We were totally shocked by the announcement. We want to make her the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. But she is behaving in a way that is unbelievable.”
The leaders said the DMDK was also upset because many of the constituencies from its wish list were not allotted to it. The CPI (M) had given a wish list of 16 constituencies, but Ms. Jayalalithaa has already announced candidates in 14 of these constituencies. For the CPI, she has not spared even one of the six sitting constituencies.
Effigies burnt
Angry cadre of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam burnt effigies of Ms. Jayalalithaa for the second consecutive day. Members of the Tambaram unit of the party burnt the effigies at the Camp Road junction near Tambaram and Chromepet on Thursday morning.
Keywords: AIADMK-MDMK alliance, Tamil Nadu Assembly election, coalition politics
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