TIRUCHI: In February this year, J Jayalalithaa reached out to actor-politician Vijayakanth and ceded 41 out of the 234 assembly seats to DMDK, a gesture uncharacteristic of the AIADMK chief. The seat offer took place a few days after the two leaders had engaged in a verbal duel. That marked the beginning of AIADMK's efforts to cobble together a coalition to match the formidable alliance that the DMK headed.
Jayalalithaa's action to rope in DMDK and many smaller parties proved to be a masterstroke. The 13-party strong alliance comprehensively won even in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, where the DMK had banked on the combined strength of the Vanniyar-based PMK and Thol Thirumavalavan's Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi to make substantial gains.
Clearly, successive defeats in elections since 2004 had taught Jayalalithaa the importance of a strong alliance. In 2006, she went almost on her own against a formidable front of DMK-Congress-PMK-Left and had to settle with just 60 seats. This time, she showed an uncharacteristic willingness to negotiate and conceded seats from the AIADMK's share to Vijayakanth's DMDK and the Left.
"In fact, in the last elections itself, the AIADMK would have won but for the DMDK. In 50-odd assembly segments, DMDK's votes were higher than the winning margin of DMK candidates," said political observer Gnani.
Jayalalithaa's action to rope in DMDK and many smaller parties proved to be a masterstroke. The 13-party strong alliance comprehensively won even in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, where the DMK had banked on the combined strength of the Vanniyar-based PMK and Thol Thirumavalavan's Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi to make substantial gains.
Clearly, successive defeats in elections since 2004 had taught Jayalalithaa the importance of a strong alliance. In 2006, she went almost on her own against a formidable front of DMK-Congress-PMK-Left and had to settle with just 60 seats. This time, she showed an uncharacteristic willingness to negotiate and conceded seats from the AIADMK's share to Vijayakanth's DMDK and the Left.
"In fact, in the last elections itself, the AIADMK would have won but for the DMDK. In 50-odd assembly segments, DMDK's votes were higher than the winning margin of DMK candidates," said political observer Gnani.
No comments:
Post a Comment