Delhi Diary: Election Fever Grips Tamil Nadu As New Alliances Emerge

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, March 15 (Bernama) -- On the premise that in politics there is always space for an alternative, new party alliances have emerged as voters in India's Tamil Nadu state get ready for the assembly election on April 6. The southern state's politics has been dominated by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) for decades but more parties have added excitement to this election. A party needs to win at least 118 seats in the 234-member assembly to form a government of its own. Tamil Nadu's previous assembly election in 2016 was won by the AIADMK, led by charismatic film star-turned-politician J. Jayalalithaa, who died the same year in December, having dominated the region's politics for three decades. Jayalalithaa's demise and the subsequent strife in the AIADMK have created an election advantage for the DMK headed by M.K. Stalin, the son of Muthuvel Karunanidhi, another dominant figure of south Indian politics who passed away in 2018. For the first time, the state's two leading parties are contesting the election without their iconic leaders, with smaller parties looking to win more seats through electoral alliances. The DMK's top allies are the Indian National Congress and leftist parties. It also has seat-sharing arrangements with Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) of Thol Thirumavalavan, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party of V. Gopalswamy, a senior politician popularly known as Vaiko. Buoyed by its success in the 2019 parliamentary elections, the DMK-led alliance is confident of winning the assembly poll. Both the DMK and the AIADMK have released their election manifestos with populist promises. The AIADMK continues to claim the legacy of Jayalalithaa, widely known as "Amma" (mother). Whereas Tamil movie superstar Rajinikanth decided against launching his planned political party, actor Kamal Haasan, another big name from the entertainment industry, is wooing voters in the state that has seen screen idols turn into successful political figures in the past. Haasan's party Makkal Needhi Maiam and its two junior partners are contesting all seats. The ruling AIADMK has an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) despite major ideological differences. The BJP aims to gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu, which has been governed by the Dravidian parties for five decades. "The AIADMK will run its government based on its own ideology. The coalitions are formed during the elections with an eye on victory," Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami was quoted as saying in a media report. The Congress party and the BJP are contesting only a small number of seats, leaving the fray to be dominated by their powerful regional allies. The AIADMK's seat-sharing talks with the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) of actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth failed, prompting the latter to join hands with the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) led by T.T.V. Dhinakaran, nephew of Jayalalithaa's powerful close aide V.K. Sasikala known as Chinnamma (mother's younger sister). The AMMK has also entered into a seat-sharing arrangement with parliament member Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM). "In politics, there is always space for an alternative. In Tamil Nadu too, we want to offer the electorate a genuine choice apart from the two existing alliances," Owaisi said. -- BERNAMA