DMDK to hold talks with Kamal Haasans' MNM for alliance
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Actor turned politician Vijayakanth
Chennai: The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) of actor turned politician Vijayakanth which snapped its alliance with the AIADMK will on Wednesday be meeting Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief and actor politician Kamal Haasan to have discussions on a possible alliance.
The DMDK was in discussions with the AIADMK for seat sharing and the party insisted on 23 seats at par with the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), but the AIADMK leadership was stubborn that it could part only with 15 seats. This was not acceptable to Vijayakanth and hence the party left the AIADMK alliance.
Party deputy general secretary and brother-in-law of Vijayakanth, L.K. Sudhish said, "DMDK has its own identity and we have a strong grassroots presence in north and south Tamil Nadu. We are holding discussions with the MNM of Kamal Haasan and hope to have something turning out."
If the DMDK and MNM reach a political alliance, then the MNM-led front will have other than Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth and R.Sarath Kumar of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi(AISMK) all actors of South Indian movies.
The MNM has already entered into a political alliance with the Indhiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) and Sarath Kumar's AISMK. While IJK will contest in 70 seats, AISMK will contest in 40 and MNM in the remaining 124 seats for the 234-member Assembly.
It has to be seen as to how the seat sharing arrangement with the DMDK will take place in the MNM and how many seats each party of the alliance will provide to the DMDK.
The DMDK, which has witnessed an impressive growth since 2003, suffered a loss of vote share in the 2016 state elections. In its first elections in 2006, the party secured only one seat with 8.4 per cent vote share. The party's vote share touched 10.3 per cent in 2009 Lok Sabha polls; in 2011, it won 29 assembly seats from 41 it contested in alliance with the AIADMK. Vijayakanth had then become the leader of Opposition.
In 2014, it contested 14 seats but could not win even one with a vote share of 5.1 per cent. Its decline continued in 2016 as it led the third front including the Left, VCK and MDMK. The alliance suffered a rout with the DMDK's vote share plummeting to 2.4 per cent. It returned to the AIADMK-led alliance in 2019, ahead of Lok Sabha polls but could not revive its fortunes.
Assembly polls will be held in Tamil Nadu in a single phase on April 6; results will be out on May 2.