After the rout in the Assembly polls, a few senior functionaries in the DMDK have now suggested to the leadership to snap ties with the People’s Welfare Front. The district secretaries meeting chaired by party president Vijayakant, which took place from Monday to Wednesday, saw some suggesting the party should go it alone in the upcoming municipal polls in October.
Sources in the party said a few district secretaries complained that the alliance was perhaps the reason for the rout the DMDK faced in the recently concluded Assembly polls.
There was total lack of coordination among the allies and the entire front depended on the party alone for manpower, they stated.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, two district secretaries said the situation was so bad that the other parties did not even have people to man the polling booths
“In some constituencies, we had to do all the work. Whether it was manpower or meeting the expenses, the burden was too much on us,” said one leader.
A former MLA added that an alliance with the DMK would have ensured a sweep for the front. “The results prove our calculations right,” he added. The Assembly polls have taken a big toll on district secretaries monetarily and it would be very difficult to support the alliance for the municipal polls, he said.
Campaign style
Many also faulted with the campaign style of MDMK general secretary Vaiko.
“He focussed more on the DMK than the AIADMK. Our supporters are primarily anti-AIADMK. The campaign resulted in even our own members voting for the DMK,” he alleged.
