With DMDK chief Vijayakant reportedly reeling under health issues, there have been growing calls from party circles to bring his wife Premalatha to the forefront.
On Saturday, many party functionaries took to social media to convey their greetings to her over her ‘elevation’ as the party’s general secretary. However, senior party members dismissed these suggestions as rumours and maintained that such big decisions could be taken only by Mr. Vijayakant. “As of now, there are no such plans,” said a party source.
While DMDK cadre have been pushing for Premalatha to take over the reins of the party, political commentators feel that her elevation may not change the party’s fortunes in Tamil Nadu politics.
Arguing that DMDK’s stature as the third largest party in the State was in itself an overestimation, Ramu Manivanan, professor and head, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Madras, said, “The party is just trying to shuffle the pack. It is an attempt to replace the king with the queen. They have nothing new to offer and they want to stay relevant by doing all this.”
“Vijayakant had an agenda when he emerged in the political scene, but it wouldn’t be possible for Premalatha to run the party in his name,” he added.
Prominent Tamil writer Stalin Rajangam said that although Premalatha may have the right temperament to run the party, she might not have the same charisma that Vijayakant had. “The party heavily depends on Vijayakant’s charisma. I don’t know if she has it. She may be able to run the party but Vijayakant's image is at the forefront of the party,” he said.
