Will Amma go for early polls?

Enthused by the swelling popular support and taking into account a splintered opposition, what with DMK struggling to retain and expand its base, AIADMK supremo may not be averse to advancing the Assembly polls, due next year, to cash in on a sympathy wave

The result of the impending June 27 bypoll in the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency in Chennai is a foregone conclusion. J Jayalalithaa, who took over the chief ministership mantle yet another time on May 23, is the firm favourite, with the DMK having decided to stay away from contesting. Till the time of writing, it is only the CPI which has decided to put up a candidate, who is not expected to even retain his deposit.

In the eight months that ‘Amma’ had been in forced isolation, ensconced in her fortress home and elsewhere, over 230 party volunteers committed suicide, unable to bear the pressures and agony that their beloved leader was going through. This strong bondage and loyalty towards the undisputed ‘thalaivi’ (leader) can only translate into a landslide win is the popular surmise.

Still, like Jayalalithaa, with the 2016 Assembly elections barely a year away, there are bigger political issues to be factored into by all the political bigwigs of the state, reeling under the sudden return of the mercurial AIADMK leader into the political scene. The barely stitched together coalition led by the principal opposition party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), comprising AIADMK rejects like actor Vijayakanth’s DMDK, V Gopalswamy’s MDMK etc., now apprehends that post this by-election outcome, Jayalalithaa may advance the Assembly elections, to cash in on the sympathy factor in her favour.

Gopalswamy, who was last seen on the national stage during the Modi swearing-in ceremony of 2014, has steadily lost his ground in local politics and is not averse to shaking hands with Karunanidhi and his son Stalin to extend his political life. Congress party, which was decimated along with DMK in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls is speaking in multiple voices with its state chief E V K S Elangovan, expressing an indirect desire to align with AIADMK.

This is the same opinion the splinter group led by G K Vasan and his Tamil Maanila Congress Party, which was founded by his late father G K Moopanar in the company of P Chidambaram in the late ‘90s. Not surprisingly, BJP, too, is counting on a change of heart by the erstwhile cine heroine, who has had a tumultuous relationship with the Hindutva party all through the past three terms of the Lok Sabha.

Whatever be the final turn of events, M K Stalin, the perennial number two of DMK which saw its leader celebrate his 92nd birthday earlier this week, has decided to get proactive. His Tiruchi party volunteer conference held in the last week of May surprised everyone in the party headquarters in Chennai for its impressive crowd support and enthusiasm.

Political observers in Chennai smirk that the DMK has no choice as it would slip into permanent political oblivion if it does not reassure its dedicated party cadre and the marginal rump of supporters it commands. As far as the elections go, it does not matter if it is in December or April next year, they assert.

By K Naresh Kumar