Vijayakanth pitches in for alliance leadership

Putting an end to speculation on tie-ups with major parties for the coming state Assembly elections, DMDK founder president, ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth said on Sunday that he would lead the electoral battle only from the front, which means that parties that accept his party’s leadership alone can join his alliance.
Speaking about any electoral alliance for the first time, Vijayakanth told party workers, after opening a new marriage hall built by him at Mamandur near Chengelpet, that the party would build a formidable alliance without the DMK and AIADMK.
The DMDK was a force to reckon with in Tamil Nadu and that parties that accept DMDK’s leadership were welcome to join hands, he said, evoking a roaring round of applause.
The call assumes significance in the background of the PMK’s present “neutral” position and the party founder Dr S Ramadoss making it clear recently that he was not averse to joining hands with Vijaykanth.
The Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK), which wields some influence in Coimbatore, Pollachi and Erode, has also indicated that it was not averse to a “third front”.
DMDK presidium chairman Panruti S Ramachandran exuded confidence on the emergence of a third front and said: “The fact that we got 11 per cent votes in the last Parliamentary elections proves that sizable sections in Tamil Nadu support a third alternative force.”