LS polls: Stalin faces dilemma in taking PMK on board

Senior leaders like party treasurer Duraimurugan and influential executive committee member Jagathratchagan are persuading Stalin to take the PMK on board.

In an attempt to convince Stalin, the two seniors who belong to the Vanniyar community, which form the vote base for the PMK, are said to have cited the consistent 4-5 per cent votes secured by the PMK in the northern districts.

Stalin, who has been facing adverse criticism more from Ramadoss than the rival AIADMK in the recent years, is in state of dilemma. Sources said he is averse to work with the party carrying a glaring caste tag.

While the two seniors were prodding him to prevent the PMK from giving an advantage to the AIADMK in the northern districts, a few prominent DMK district secretaries in the same region like E V Velu, K Ponmudi besides propaganda secretary A Raja have been strongly urging Stalin not to have truck with the PMK.

Significantly, confusion prevails even in the PMK where its president, S Ramadoss, and his son are not on the same page over establishing an electoral agreement with the DMK. Ramadoss senior was against an alliance with the DMK, while his son Anbumani is reportedly willing to bury the hatchet with Stalin to ensure his re-entry into the Parliament.

Even sources within the PMK opined that the real spoiler is Ramadoss senior’s aversion to the present DMK leadership. Despatching the invitation for the unveiling of Karunanidhi’s statue through A K Moorthy and failure to thank Ramadoss for supporting them on the allotment of space for Karunanidhi on the Marina, besides the CM ambitions of his son are believed to be the reasons for the Ramadoss senior’s dislike towards Anna Arivalayam.

However, Anbumani could push his father to choose the DMK alliance, despite the ruling AIADMK making a lucrative offer of seats plus other considerations. Leaders within the Congress also feel that the PMK has a presence only in the north regions and their failure to bring more to the table could be a deterrent to forming an alliance.