VOTERS in Tamil Nadu have begun to think of an alternative to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which have alternately ruled the State for 40 years. This is an important message that emerges from the performance of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), the party that actor Vijayakant launched eight months ago. The DMDK emerged with a creditable vote share of 8.38 per cent, having contested in all the 234 seats.
What seems to have endeared Vijayakant to voters is that he stood by his decision that his party would contest the elections alone. In about 150 seats, DMDK candidates came third in multi-cornered contests that included an alliance headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Candidates of the party polled more votes than the losing margins of about 80 AIADMK candidates and 48 DMK candidates.
The party got about 28 lakh votes, though it has only one seat to show, that of Vijayakant in Vriddhachalam. This was "proof of a big change" that the people were yearning for, he said. The votes for his party cut across all segments, rural-urban, rich-poor, young-old, men-women, Dalit-backward classes and so on. A sizable section of Dalits, who have been loyal to the AIADMK for three decades, seem to have voted for the DMDK this time.
The party's candidates won a minimum of a few thousand votes. The highest score of 48,522 votes, after the leader's own performance, was recorded in the Tambaram constituency by K. Dharma. At Thondamuthur, where former Union Ministers M. Kannappan of the MDMK and S.R. Balasubramaniam of the Congress, clashed, A. Dennis Koilpillai of the DMDK polled 37,901 votes.
In Vriddhachalam, Vijayakant carried the fight into the PMK camp and defeated the incumbent PMK legislator R. Govindasamy by 13,377 votes. Of the 1,51,731 votes polled, he got 61,337 votes, Govindasamy 47,560 and the AIADMK candidate 35,876 votes.
What is inscrutable is that the DMDK garnered so much of votes although Vijayakant is a not a platform orator and he does not talk in ornamental and alliterative Tamil, which most of the DMK and AIADMK politicians specialise in. Besides, he made no tall promises. He attacked both the DMK and AIADMK alliances and appealed to the voters to give him a chance to prove his sincerity.
In a statement after the results were announced, he said: "In comparison with the votes that other parties who forged alliances received, the 27,61,137 votes we got from the 234 constituencies where we fought alone is proof that people are getting ready to welcome a big change. The recognition that the people of Tamil Nadu have given us will form the foundation of the DMDK's transformation into a powerful political force." He pointed out that the DMDK's opponents were no pushovers but men with power, pelf and cadre force. Yet the rousing support that his candidates got was touching, Vijayakant said.
He contradistinguished the toughened political circumstances in which he founded the DMDK with the situations that led to the founding of the AIADMK by M.G. Ramachandran and the Telugu Desam by N.T. Rama Rao in Andhra Pradesh. There were not so many political parties on the scene when MGR and NTR established their parties and rode to power. Besides, MGR had the backing of the Congress, Vijayakant said.
The actor had faced violent opposition from the PMK cadre in 2004 after he made a remark about politicians becoming Ministers without getting elected - an innuendo at PKM chief Dr Ramadoss' son Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, who was made Union Health Minister after he became a member of the Rajya Sabha. Vijayakant's fans also stood up to violence from the Dalit Panthers of India headed by Thol. Thirumavalavan (Frontline, October 7, 2005).
It was on September 14, 2005, in Madurai, that Vijayakant, who has acted in 148 films, announced the formation of the DMDK. He simply converted his fans associations into a political party. The political philosophy of his party seems to be a judicious blend of nationalism of the Congress variety and the core beliefs of the Dravidian movement. Hence the name Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam or National Progressive Dravidan Party.
T.S. Subramanian
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