Vaiko's party quits DMK alliance, backs Vijay's TVK in jolt to Stalin
In a major shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko has announced that his party will snap ties with
In a major shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko has announced that his party will snap ties with the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and align with Chief Minister Vijay’s TVK. The decision comes a day after the MDMK general council held a high-level meeting to decide the party’s future course of action. “We will support the TVK led by CM Vijay,” MDMK supremo Vaiko told reporters after announcing the party’s exit from the alliance. He added that his party would back TVK in the upcoming bypolls for six seats in Tamil Nadu. Read Full Story Vaiko accused the DMK, the party’s long-time ally, of attempting to prop up an AIADMK-led government.
He argued that such a move undermined the DMK’s stated secular ideology. In a resolution passed at the Chennai meeting, the MDMK alleged that after the Tamil Nadu Assembly election results were announced on May 4, there were “behind-the-scenes political deals” that went against the mandate given by the people. The AIADMK had won 47 seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections, while its national ally, the BJP, secured just one seat. The MDMK said that any attempt to facilitate an AIADMK-led government rendered the DMK’s claim of an “ideological alliance” under the Secular Progressive Alliance meaningless. Under these circumstances, the resolution added, office-bearers and cadres of the MDMK felt that the party should no longer continue in the DMK-led alliance.
The MDMK had been part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance for over eight years. The Vaiko-led party had passed a resolution on December 3, 2017, to align with the DMK “to prevent communal forces from gaining ground in Tamil Nadu and to protect the core ideological tenets of the Dravidian movement from erosion.” In the recently concluded polls, the MDMK won two seats, with both candidates contesting on the DMK’s ‘rising sun’ symbol. The Vijay-led party won 108 seats but fell 10 short of a simple majority. Later, the Congress, Left Front and other smaller allies — all of them DMK allies until then — extended support to Vijay to become the next Chief Minister. While the MDMK did not formally announce support for the TVK government, there were visible signs of Vaiko softening towards CM Vijay following the results.
The first signs emerged immediately after Vijay became Chief Minister on May 10, when Vaiko as well as his son, Durai Vaiko, praised the TVK chief for his “political magnanimity” after he visited the veteran leader’s residence following his oath-taking ceremony. Later, Durai Vaiko and the MDMK chief met the Chief Minister on two separate occasions, further fuelling speculation about the party’s future political course. Now, with Vaiko openly declaring support for Vijay-led TVK, Tamil Nadu’s political landscape is expected to see further churn in the coming months. Ends
The BriefWire