Tamilnadu: Black MGR a force to reckon with

5 Jul 2008
THE FOUNDER-president of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Tamil film star Vijayakanth, it is admitted in enlightened circles, has made a successful entry into Tamilnadu politics. His success has come about in spite of his paddling his own canoe. He has not allied with any of the political parties, national or regional, so far. His view that his party is a force to reckon with in spite of its nascent origin and hence there is no need for his party to ride piggyback on any of the parties, national or regional, prominent in Tamilnadu, seems to carry conviction. He commands a big following in Tamilnadu and unlike the other regional outfits in Tamilnadu, the Dravidian parties included, has given the impression that he would approach all issues from a national perspective and will not allow parochial tendencies to creep in.

In Vridhachalam, the constituency that he represents, he has launched several developmental activities. He is one of the few non-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), non-All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and non-Congress party candidates to have won. He has been in constant touch with the electorate. What is more, he has been accessible to them. The goodwill he has earned has in turn earned the admiration of the rank and file and some leaders of other political parties, although a thread of grudge runs through it at times. So much so, the DMK leadership hit him below the belt by insinuating that a Telugu-ite should not be allowed to rule over the people of Tamilnadu. Being one from neither the ruling party nor the major opposition, the welfare and developmental activities he launched in his constituency did not receive adequate support from the state government. In what seems to be a part of a virtuous circle in the offing, he is blessed with a wife who has proved in a short time that she is politically savvy too like her husband.

At a party function in Kanchipuram, 70km along the coast from Chennai, Vijayakanth’s wife Premalatha invited the people to see for themselves her husband’s contribution to his constituency’s development, although he received little help from the government in his efforts. The people of Vridhachalam were happy with his performance. Her husband would repeat the achievement over the entire state of Tamilnadu if his party was voted to power in the state. She wanted the entire state to benefit in the same manner as Vridhachalam.

Premalatha is often accompanied by her brother Satish and the two command enormous clout in the party. She reminded the audience that the DMDK was not just another new political party as described by some politicians. (Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK supremo, about a couple of months ago, dismissed the alleged threat posed by DMDK by remarking that after a spell of rain, it was natural for some moss to proliferate and a la the moss, the new parties would fade into oblivion). Perhaps referring to this remark, Premalatha said that the DMDK had grown over thirty years from a film fans association into a political party, thanks to the love and affection the people of the state had rained on it. She dared the other political parties to contest the elections on their own (without entering into any alliance).

Only Vijayakanth had declared that he was ready to fight the Lok Sabha elections on his own. But Premalatha did not explain why Vijayakanth publicly declared sometime ago that he was being wooed by both the DMK and the AIADMK. Did he imply that he was open to an alliance with either of them?

However, if the two Left parties parted ways with the DMK-Congress front on the nuclear deal (it is a certainty now), they might be inclined to consider an alliance with Vijayakanth. The DMK would also be interested in the DMDK as a substitute for the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) with whom it recently snapped all ties. But Vijayakanth had better be careful with the DMK and the PMK. The former in particular will not hesitate to hit below the belt. If Vijayakanth becomes invincible, the DMK will rake up his Telugu roots (Vijayakanth is a Telugu-ite by birth) because even the octogenarian leader of the DMK, M Karunanidhi is yet to become a statesman (vide, “It’s time Karunanidhi became a statesman”).

Source: potpourri.merinews.com