Rumours of DMK-AIADMK joining hands to counter Vijay-Congress
Hours after Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay met Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and staked his claim to form a government as leader of the single largest party, speculation about a possible alignment between the two major Dravidian rivals, the DMK and the AIADMK, reached fever pitch.
Unconvinced by the TVK’s numbers, which still need at least six more MLA-elects to reach the magic number of 118 in the 234-member Assembly, Governor Arlekar reportedly refused to consent to Vijay’s swearing-in.
At the same time, several posts took social media by storm speculating that leaders from the DMK and the AIADMK may have been in covert conversations for a possible alternative formation. News channels flashing big headlines on DMK-AIADMK talks added fuel to the rumour mills.
Senior DMK leader and party spokesperson TKS Elangovan firmly denied the reports to South First.
“This is completely false. No such talks are happening. If we do something like this, how will people trust us again? The public themselves would reject us. So we will never do this,” he said.
Likewise, AIADMK functionary Singai Ramachandran said he was not aware of any such developments. South First is still awaiting responses to its queries from other senior AIADMK leaders.
Meanwhile, insiders handling public relations campaigns for the political parties told South First the rumours were deliberately floated by circles close to Vijay’s camp.
The alleged objective, they said, was to create pressure and confusion among parties such as the VCK and Left parties, which are still hesitant to extend support to the TVK.
At the same time, others claimed informal discussions had indeed taken place, with proposals allegedly suggesting Edappadi K. Palaniswami as Chief Minister and Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister. More sources from DMK deemed such conversation a “joke”.