Vijayakanth faces challenge to reverse DMDK's slide in Tamil Nadu polls
Apr 05, 2021
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 5 : It is a crucial election for actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth not only because his party DMDK failed to open its account in the previous assembly polls but also because of his decision to leave the AIADMK-led alliance ahead of the state polls.
DMDK is contesting the Tamil Nadu elections in alliance with TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).
Vijayraj Alagarswami Vijayakanth, known as 'Captain', launched his own party Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) on September 14, 2005, in Madurai riding on his popularity as a film actor.
DMDK got 8.4 per cent vote share in 2006 assembly polls. The vote share went up to 10.3 per cent in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls making the two big parties AIADMK and DMK take notice.
DMDK got 7.9 per cent votes in 2011 Assembly polls and even emerged as the second-largest party in the assembly. The party had formed an alliance with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and won 29 of the 41 seats it contested.
He was also elected as Leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
But DMDK has been on the decline since then. It could not win any seat in the last assembly polls and could get only 2.4 per cent votes. It was part of the AIADMK-NDA alliance in the last Lok Sabha polls but could not win any seat.
It is apparently DMDK's poor performance in some of the past polls which made the AIADMK strike a hard bargain and eventually led to a deadlock in talks between the two parties for assembly polls in March this year.
A two-time MLA, Vijayakanth contested the 2016 election from the Ulundurpettai constituency in Vilupuram district but lost both his seat and deposit in the 2016 election.
DMDK will contest from 60 seats in the new alliance.
Vijayakanth is not contesting the election apparently due to health reasons and his wife Premalatha Vijayakant is contesting from Virudhachalam. Former MLA P. Parthasarathy is contesting from Virugambakkam seat.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2.
