'Intense rivalry between the AIADMK and the DMK was standing in the way of the development of the state.'
The DMDK officially joined the DMK-led alliance ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, marking a significant political development in the state.
After the Supreme Court banned a bandh planned by the the ruling alliance on Monday, Karunanidhi said he will fast demanding the early completion of the Sethu Samudram canal project.
Capitalising on the boycott by main opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Democratic Progressive Alliance on Friday expectedly swept the by-polls to five Tamil Nadu assembly seats, trouncing actor-politician Vijaykant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam by impressive margins.
Part two of an exclusive interview with the MDMK leader.
With the initial poll preparations in West Bengal almost complete, the Election Commission is all set to turn its focus on Tamil Nadu, another key state where assembly polls are due early in 2006.
"If the coalition partners had to support all the decisions of the ruling party, why should they have separate parties? They could as well dissolve their parties and merge with the DMK and sing peans in its favour. This is what the DMK is expecting from its allies."
V K Sasikala, a close aide of the late J Jayalalithaa, has announced the launch of a new political party in Tamil Nadu, potentially leading to a four-way contest in the upcoming state Assembly elections.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress won all 10 of the seats it contested.
Days after sending feelers to the Communist Party of India-Marxist and CPI which had quit the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Saturday said no talks had been held with them so far and declined to commit on the number of seats they would be offered if they joined the Democratic Progressive Alliance.
Elections will also be held in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
The BJP is focusing determinedly on the seats it lost in 2019, with the hope of winning these either independently or with the aid of its allies.
If the people of Tamil Nadu stop deifying their leaders and start evaluating them more objectively, the political masters too may change their wayward behaviour, argues Sudhir Bisht.
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