Jaya set to seal poll deal with DMDK

CHENNAI: Suspense over which way 'Captain' would swing will end soon as AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa is all set to formally announce a tie-up with Vijayakanth's DMDK, sources said. The AIADMK already has the MDMK and the Left parties in its combine.

Vijayakanth's brother-in-law and the DMDK's youth wing secretary LK Sudhish has been holding talks with AIADMK leaders through some mediators. Leaders confirmed that the talks were going smoothly and the AIADMK is likely to part with about 35 to 40 seats which will make the DMDK the second largest partner in the alliance.

Vijayakanth's dynamic role in the blockbuster 1992 Tamil movie 'Captain Prabhakaran' earned him the honorific of Captain. His debut in Tamil Nadu politics was marked by frequent clashes with Jayalalithaa over his claim that he was MGR's heir. The dark complexioned actor is even hailed by partymen as 'karuppu (black) MGR'. But political compulsions have thrown the two leaders together. Senior AIADMK leaders feel that the anti-DMK votebank that Vijayakanth brings along could prove to be crucial in a closely-contested election.

The DMDK's electoral strategy has been fine-tuned by a five-member team piloted by party president Vijayakanth himself. Other members of the team are Panruti S Ramachandran, K Pandiarajan, K R Veerappan and Sudhish. There are indications that the DMDK has demanded 50 seats but AIADMK is ready to give 35 seats and perhaps stretch it to 40 if the DMDK proves inflexible.

Since its inception in September 2005, this would be the first electoral alliance for the DMDK. It contested on its own in both the previous assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The DMDK got 8.38% votes in 2006 assembly elections, while in 2009 parliamentary polls, it bettered its performance by securing 10.08% votes. The party secured more than 20,000 votes in 27 assembly segments, over 15,000 votes in 75 segments, more than 10,000 votes in 169 segments and more than 5,000 votes in 228 segments in the last parliamentary polls.

On Tuesday, an AIADMK release said Dr K Krishnasamy of Puthiya Tamizhagam Katchi, a dalit party, held the first round of seat-sharing talks with AIADMK.