A final announcement on the alliance for the 2011 Assembly elections will be made in a few days and it will be in tune with the wishes of the workers, said AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Thursday.
Addressing the general council meeting of the party, she said that she had been holding talks with a few parties, but no final agreement had been reached so far.
Though she wanted to make a “happy announcement” at the meeting itself, she could not do so because no decision had been taken. Moreover, party rules made it mandatory for her to convene a general council meeting before the year-end.
“A bright future is awaiting us. Work with the motive that we are going to create history. Prepare yourself to enjoy the fruits of victory. The darkness that engulfed us remains in the past. The people of Tamil Nadu also will live in a bright future,” she said.
While noting that the 2011 election would be a “turning point” for the AIADMK and it would be “a war the party had not witnessed in its political history,” she urged the partymen not to work against the official candidates of the party in the elections.
“A new culture has emerged in the party. Four or five people who cannot get the party ticket form a gang and work against the official candidates,” she said. “We were not defeated by the DMK in 2006. We defeated ourselves. Otherwise we could have formed the government though we did not form a major alliance in 2006,” she said.
“I am raising the issue now, not to criticise you, but to ensure that we should not repeat in 2011 what happened in 2006,” she said.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said it was practically impossible for her to give seats to everyone because the AIADMK also had to share a lot of seats with its alliance partners.
She said the AIADMK was a big party with over 1.5 crore members and in every constituency there were a lot of people well qualified to represent the party.
“It is really difficult for me to choose the candidates because there are a lot of talented people in every constituency. In this election you should accept the candidate announced by me and work with the motive that it is our duty to ensure victory for the party,” she said recalling how partymen during MGR's days set aside their grievances and worked unitedly for the official candidate.
Likening the 2011 elections to the 1967 elections which paved the way for the DMK rule and also ensured that only Dravidian parties could win in the State, she said the next election should ensure that the AIADMK was the permanent ruler of Tamil Nadu.
