Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Jayalalithaa has blown the election conch by appointing leaders in-charge of poll work for all the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State and the lone seat in Puducherry, though elections are eight months away.
The announcement assumes significance as the party is looking for a bigger role in national politics and it has been projecting its leader as the candidate for the post of Prime Minister.
While addressing the party’s general council meeting in December 2012, Ms. Jayalalithaa made it clear that her party would go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls.
At the general council, Housing Minister R. Vaithilingam referred to the acceptability of Ms Jayalalithaa as PM candidate to a host of leaders in different States such as Nitish Kumar of Bihar and Jaganmohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, besides the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the BJP.
About a year ago, the second-line leadership, spearheaded by the party treasurer and Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam, visited different Lok Sabha constituencies and ran a campaign projecting Ms. Jayalalithaa as the future Prime Minister.
The recent meeting between her and CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat went to show that the Left party would not mind her candidature despite her proximity with Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
That she does not favour pre-poll alliance with parties such as the BJP can be a solace for the Left.
By releasing the list of leaders in charge of the constituencies, she has roped in all her cabinet colleagues, MPs, district secretaries, senior leaders, office-bearers of various wings of the party for the election work.
Among those who have been accommodated are former Ministers C. Ponnaiyan and Gokula Indira, who was dropped from the Cabinet early this year, and Nanjil Sampath, who left the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and joined the AIADMK in December last.
Those whose names are not found in the list include former Ministers K.A. Sengottaiyan, who was ranked number three in the Cabinet till July last year, and D. Jayakumar, former Assembly Speaker, apart from former Ministers V.S.Vijay and Vaigai Chelvan.
