Split in DMDK ahead of assembly elections

Actor-turned-politician A. Vijaykant's DMDK party suffered a split on Tuesday as he expelled several leaders for seeking an alliance with the DMK for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections.

Vijaykant said in a statement that he had expelled propaganda secretary V.C. Chandrakumar, a legislator, and district leaders with immediate effect for acting in a way that defamed the party.

The expulsion came soon after Chandrakumar and the others addressed the media demanding that the DMDK must align with the DMK and end its alliance with the four-party People's Welfare Front (PWF).

Chandrakumar said: "The decision to align with the PWF was taken within Vijaykant's household, without consulting party leaders or cadres."

He said party leaders had told Vijaykant that the DMDK should align with the DMK to unseat the AIADMK in next month's elections.

He said the disgruntled party legislators and district secretaries were not quitting the DMDK now but urging Vijaykant to axe the alliance with the PWF.

On March 23, Vijaykant announced his decision to join forces with PWF - a combination of two Communist parties, Dalit party VCK and Vaiko's MDMK. The alliance named Vijaykant as its chief ministerial candidate.

As per the deal, the DMDK will put up candidates in 124 of the 234 seats. The rest will be shared among the other four parties.

"On March 24 itself we wrote to Vijaykant expressing our opposition to the alliance and requesting him to review the decision," Chandrakumar said. "We told him the decision to align with MNK (the Tamil name of PWF) will destroy the party."

He said 95 percent of party members favoured an alliance with DMK.

"The decision to align with the AIADMK in 2011 was in line with the party cadres' wish. Today the situation has reversed," he said.

On Monday, after sealing a seat sharing pact with the Congress, the DMK said no more parties will be included in the alliance. - IANS