Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s advice to the CPI to
contest for the sixth seat in the biennial election to the Rajya Sabha from
Tamil Nadu is not without significance. Contrary to the perception that she had
shut the doors on the Left by fielding five AIADMK candidates for six seats, political
observers sense a clever strategy by which she can ensure the victory of a CPI
candidate as well as of her party’s nominees. The strategy, however, depends on
the DMK and the DMDK not coming together for Rajya Sabha polls.
Mr. T.S.R. Venkataramanan, a noted lawyer and
former Congress MLA said that, in the absence of coordination between DMK and
DMDK, Ms. Jayalalithaa can ensure the victory of all her five candidates and a
CPI candidate by dividing the 180 MLAs in her fold [including 18 Left MLAs) equally
to back all the six candidates. I think it is a master stroke.
The AIADMK has 151 votes. When the votes of its
allies and the six dissident DMDK MLAs are included, the number will increase
to 162. By bringing together the CPI and the CPI (M), which have 18 votes, she
can raise the bloc’s strength to 180. Her numbers are likely to go up as some
more DMDK MLAs, including K. Pandiarajan, elected from Virudhunagar constituency,
are prepared to switch loyalty.
Mr. Venkataramanan, who had worked as an election
agent for Jayanthi Natarajan in a Rajya Sabha poll in the 1980s, said there was
no hard and fast rule that every candidate should get 34 votes. He said that, one
has to get the maximum number of votes to get elected. If six candidates get 30
each, they will be declared elected. It will not happen if the DMK and the DMDK
work together.
The DMK and the DMDK seemed to have got the wind of
Ms. Jayalalithaa’s strategy. A
senior DMDK MLA said that, he hope our leader (Vijayakant) will not allow this
to happen. I expect him to take an appropriate decision that will prevent the
AIADMK from having a cakewalk in the RS polls. He said if the expected
crossover of more DMDK legislators took place, he would certainly make a
gesture towards the DMK. Though the DMK was keen on contesting the elections, it
is not sure of support from the actor-turned-politician.
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