TNN, Mar 5, 2011, 05.56am IST
CHENNAI: Forging an alliance that gives the AIADMK a leg-up in the forthcoming assembly polls, the party's general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Friday signed a deal with Vijayakanth's DMDK to contest together. The DMDK leader has agreed to an arrangement which allows his party to contest 41 seats.
Accompanied by his brother-in-law L K Sudhish and DMDK presidium chairman Panruti S Ramachandran, Vijayakanth visited Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden bungalow around 9.30pm to formalise the deal. "We are happy with the arrangement. Our main aim is to provide an alternative to the existing corrupt and incompetent regime," said Ramachandran, speaking to TOI after the meeting.
The entry of DMDK into the AIADMK-led alliance that includes Vaiko's MDMK, the Left parties and a host of fringe groups is expected to provide the Opposition a competitive advantage in an election, which many political observers believe will be a close contest. In the last assembly polls, Vijayakanth's party got 8.38% of the vote share in a triangular contest, causing a significant split in anti-incumbency votes. He repeated the performance in the last general elections, raising his vote share to 10.08%.
The alliance, which looked elusive even about a month ago, was clinched in Jayalalitha's living room after an exchange of pleasantries. The cheerful AIADMK general secretary posed with Vijayakanth and his party colleagues for photographs after a 20-minute meeting.
An AIADMK press release later said the two parties had signed a deal to contest the elections together with the DMDK being allotted 41 seats. This was seen as a significant climbdown by Vijayakanth as his confidantes were hopeful of getting 50 seats. DMDK insiders said the party struck a compromise in exchange for key constituencies in the AIADMK's southern bastion as well as Chennai. There is talk that Vijayakanth's wife Premalatha may be given a Chennai constituency, said a DMDK source.
"We are perfectly satisfied with the present arrangement as we plan to be in the Opposition front. We are not concerned about the number of seats (we get)," said Ramachandran.
The coming together of Jayalalithaa and Vijayakanth marks a new chapter in ties between the two parties. Until recently, there have been acerbic exchanges between the two leaders with Jayalalithaa even accusing Vijayakanth of attempting to usurp the MGR legacy.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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