MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Friday said his party candidates would contest on their own symbol and not on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol in this year's Assembly elections.
He also clarified that there was no pressure or demand from the DMK to contest on the party’s symbol. In the 2019 Parliamentary elections, the MDMK candidate was elected on the 'Rising Sun' symbol.
Talking to reporters during his annual New Year interaction, Mr. Vaiko said spiritual politics could not emerge as an alternative to Dravidian politics since actor Rajinikanth, the proponent of the idea, had decided against launching a political party.
“There is no person other than Mr. Rajinikanth to propagate the idea. Communal forces will try to occupy a space in Tamil Nadu politics. But they will not succeed in their attempt,” said the MDMK leader.
He felt that the actor was under no compulsion to give up his plans to launch a political party. “He is capable of taking his own decision,” said Mr. Vaiko who had spoken to the actor when he was being treated in a Hyderabad hospital last month.
Asked who would be benefited from Mr. Rajinikanth’s decision to opt out of a political entry, Mr. Vaiko said even if the actor had entered politics he would not have affected the prospects of the DMK.
“The DMK front will secure an absolute majority by winning more than 200 seats in the Assembly elections,” he said.
Recalling the impact made by Mr. Rajinikanth’s support to the DMK-TMC combine in 1996, Mr. Vaiko said the MDMK was severely affected by the actor’s message against the AIADMK government and its Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. The DMK had then put up posters saying that every candidate of the party had the support of Mr. Rajinikanth.
“But in the coming elections he will not express his opinion in favour of anyone,” he said.
Mr. Vaiko said he could not comment on expelled DMK leader M.K. Alagiri’s plans to meet his supporters in Madurai on January 3, contending that without knowing what he had planned to do it was impossible to comment.
He recalled that he stopped criticising former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran after meeting LTTE leader Prabhakaran (whom the AIADMK founder had helped).
Mr. Vaiko said Tamil Nadu Governor should take a decision on the resolution adopted in the State Assembly in favour of releasing all the seven persons convicted in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assasinataion case.
