No matter about the party, but we want 14+1: Premalatha

CHENNAI: Shutting down the closed-door negotiations and setting sights on the open, Premalatha Vijayakant, general secretary of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) on Wednesday announced that her party will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the party which will be allocating 14 Lok Sabha seats with one Rajya Sabha seat.

Addressing reporters after the general council meeting and district secretaries meeting held at the DMDK headquarters in Koyambedu in the city, Premalatha said, "The opinion of most of the district secretaries is that the Captain's party should contest alone in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. The reason is that there is so much public opinion that they should vote for DMDK. You please don't consider it as just a wave of sympathy (of Captain Vijayakant)."

Justifying her decision, Premalatha said, "At present, DMDK has four options, one of which is a stand-alone contest, the remaining three are DMK, AIADMK and BJP alliance. Even though our cadres are willing to go alone, my plan is to form an alliance with those who allocate 14 LS and 1 RS seats. At present, alliances are formed in the places that give more seats to those who are joining alliances based on principles."

As the DMDK in its general council meeting resolved to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in alliance with other parties and had adopted a resolution, giving powers to decide on alliance partners, to its general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant, she however informed that she will form a committee to negotiate with other parties for an alliance and the committee will finalise the alliance partner and constituencies in a transparent manner.

She also informed that many of the district secretaries of DMDK, urged the party's high command to give a chance to late Captain's son Vijaya Prabhakaran and her to contest in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. To a question related to actor Vijay's political entry, Premalatha congratulated actor Vijay for his new political outfit and welcomed his decision to enter politics like late Captain Vijayakant.

Meanwhile, a senior leader and former MLA of DMDK told DT Next that many of the district secretaries, who participated in the meeting urged their leader Premalatha to form an alliance with AIADMK instead of BJP and get influential seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. "Section of functionaries shared their views in favour of our former ally AIADMK and they urged the leadership to revive the alliance with Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK instead of choosing Annamalai-led BJP. Few others expressed their views on contesting alone. But this time, the functionaries are keen on electoral victory after more than a decade, " the leader informed on the condition of anonymity.

However, the DMDK insiders predicted that their party leadership might choose the BJP alliance for their individual interests instead of the party's growth.

Earlier in the general council meeting, they adopted 10 resolutions including to promote the legacy of the late Captain Vijayakant, founder of DMDK, through various grassroots initiatives such as Gram Sabha meetings, street-side campaigns, and small-scale gatherings to engage with the people effectively. The party also plans to organise large-scale public meetings across the state.