The general council of the DMDK is set to discuss the alliance strategy to be adopted in the upcoming Assembly elections in Perambalur on Saturday with factions within the party divided over which front to join.
Sources in the DMDK said the voice in favour of an alliance with the DMK has been growing in the last few weeks. But the party also has sections which believe that a pact with the DMK will once and for all destroy the image of the DMDK being a credible alternative to the two principal Dravidian parties.
A senior party leader said an open announcement on alliance was unlikely as parties avoid taking a decision during the Tamil month of ‘Margazhi.’ “The discussion is bound to take place. Some feel the party should join the People’s Welfare Front and lead the alliance with Vijayakant as the chief ministerial candidate,” a party MLA said.
Over the last few weeks, the DMDK president has received invites from the DMK, PWF and BJP. But he chose to remain tight-lipped even as he continued to attack the AIADMK and the DMK.
“Our leader’s recent strong statements against the DMK are a worry since an alliance with that party now may dent our reputation. But, the common goal for every one now is to defeat the AIADMK,” the leader said.
The DMDK contested the 2011 Assembly elections in the AIADMK alliance and joined the NDA in 2014.