The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) on Saturday walked out of the secular Progressive Alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) after more than eight years, with party general secretary Vaiko accusing its old ally – DMK – of trying to quietly install an AIADMK government after the Assembly election results. The MDMK has now said that it will support the ruling TVK party in the upcoming assembly by-elections.
“We are leaving the alliance headed by the DMK. In the by-elections that follow, we will extend our support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. They have eradicated commission and corruption, the evil of democracy,” the movement’s general secretary said, hours after a resolution to this effect was passed in the general council meeting on Saturday, in which 1,466 members participated and expressed their support for severing ties with the DMK.
Faiko added that his party will not compete in the by-elections, but “if they invite me, I will go to participate in the election campaign.”
However, the party said it will remain part of the National Opposition Alliance and will attend the upcoming meeting of the National Indian Inclusive Development Alliance (INDIA) caucus.
Vaiko said his party was “forced” to contest only four Assembly seats under the KDP’s “Rising Sun” poll symbol, ignoring its requests to contest with an independent poll symbol in the April 23 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. “Other alliance partners (in the DMK-led SPA) were contesting on their own ballot symbols. But we had to sign our acceptance that we will only contest on four assembly seats and under the ‘Rising Sun’ symbol,” he added.
He also alleged that the DMK was involved in political maneuvering after the Assembly election results. “We never criticized Stalin or the DMK, but after the election result, in order to form the AIADMK government, the DMK indulged in politics,” he said.
The Vaiko-led party passed a resolution on December 3, 2017, to align with the DMK “to prevent communal forces from gaining ground in Tamil Nadu and to protect the core ideological principles of the Dravidian movement from erosion”.
In the recent polls, the MDMK won two seats, with both candidates contesting on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol. The Vijay-led party won 108 seats but was 10 short of a simple majority. Later, the Congress, the Left Front and other smaller allies – all allies of the DMK until then – extended their support to Vijay to become the next chief minister.
While the MDMK has not officially announced its support to the TVK government, Vaiko has met CM Vijay on several occasions since then.
On May 10, after Vijay became chief minister, Vaiko and his son, Durai Vaiko, praised the TVK chief for his “political magnanimity” after he visited the veteran leader’s residence after his swearing-in ceremony.
Later, MDMK chief Durai Vaiko met the Prime Minister on two separate occasions, adding to speculation about the party’s future political trajectory. Now, with Vaiko publicly declaring his support for the Vijay-led TVK, Tamil Nadu’s political scene is expected to witness further turmoil in the coming months.
HT reached out to the DMK and AIADMK but did not receive a response till the time of going to press.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the walkout showed how the DMK treated its alliance partners.
“The Congress has abandoned the DMK and now the MDMK, which contested on the ‘Rising Sun’ symbol (the poll symbol of the DMK), has withdrawn from the DMK alliance. This shows how badly the DMK is treating its alliance partners, and the way they are treating them,” he said. BJP Tamil Nadu Secretary Vinoj P Selvam said.
