By resolving to defeat the Congress-led UPA government in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, the district meeting of the MDMK has dropped enough hints that it could inch towards the BJP in the elections. But as no clear picture of a possible alliance has emerged, the party wants to wait as elections are over six months away. The party’s feels the AIADMK, led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, was unlikely to have a pre-poll alliance with the BJP.
“Even in Virudhunagar our leader Vaiko has made it clear that our object is to unseat the Congress from power. The question before us is how to achieve it. The question of alliance has not yet been finalised as we are not sure which way the BJP is heading,” said a senior MDMK leader, who attended Tuesday’s meeting.
The MDMK boycotted the 2011 Assembly polls as it could not finalise an amicable seat-sharing agreement with the AIADMK. As the decision cost the party heavily and led to the emergence of actor Vijayakant’s DMDK as the main opposition party in the Assembly, Mr Vaiko has decided not to stay away from elections in the future.
“There is no change in our decision to enter the fray. However, we are studying the situation. We are also not averse to the idea of aligning with the BJP,” said the senior leader.
The MDMK won one seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when it contested elections as part of the AIADMK alliance. Going by its performance in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, it was a huge comedown for the party, which then had three representatives.
In 2004, Mr Vaiko, who had earlier been detained by the AIADMK regime under the now-defunct Prevention of Terrorism Act, went with the Congress-DMK combine and the election saw the rout of the AIADMK.
