The battle lines were drawn for a multi-cornered contest in the May 16 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, with the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), led by G.K.Vasan, aligning with the DMDK-People’s Welfare Front on Saturday.
The TMC’s decision has isolated the BJP, which a day earlier had claimed to have opened a channel of communication with the party’s second line leadership for an alliance. With this, Tamil Nadu will witness a keenly fought contest between candidates of the AIADMK, the DMK-Congress front, the DMDK-PWF and the Pattali Makkal Katchi, which had started the groundwork for the elections over a year ago by declaring its youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss its chief ministerial candidate. The BJP, whose solo performances in the past have not been impressive, and the Naam Tamilar Katchi are the other two players in the fray.
For the first time, the AIADMK is testing its strength with no significant allies (in 1989, the party’s two Jayalalithaa and Janaki factions had fielded candidates without major partners).
The DMK, which renewed its ties with the Congress after a three-year estrangement, has put together a rainbow alliance by including two Muslim outfits (the MMK and the IUML), Puthiya Tamilagam, a Dalit party, and three fringe outfits to take on the AIADMK in a do-or-die battle.
