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Tamil Nadu : extreme opportunism |
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The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms. J. Jayalalitha, was in Delhi last week for two days during which she met the President, the Prime Minister and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. She sought the revival of corruption cases against the DMK leader and former Chief Minister, Mr. Karunanidhi, whom she defeated in the recent elections and who happens to be the NDA’s supporter at the Centre. Although she said that she has no plans to revive ties with the NDA, nobody believes her. The BJP itself has a history of dumping the losers and going with the rulers.
With Mamata Banerjee out of the NDA and trouble brewing with the Samata Party, the AIADMK’s numbers in the Lok Sabha would be very convenient to the BJP. The DMK currently has 12 MPs while the AIADMK has 11. The PMK and the MDMK have five and four respectively. Dumping the DMK could in addition release at least three ministerial berths and even a fourth, if they split up Industries and Commerce, currently held by Murasoli Maran. This will also help the BJP accommodate Ajit Singh who they desperately need to contest the UP elections. Jayalalitha’s demands may not be ministerial berths, but help to keep the cases against her at bay. There are indications that this may happen because of the PM’s refusal to endorse the DMK demand for the recall of the Tamil Nadu Governor.
But there is no feeler yet from Jayalalitha who is on the contrary making positive statements in favour of the People’s Front. Spelling out her interest in the People’s Front to the media, she refused to commit herself to a long-term relationship with the Congress. About the AIADMK-Congress alliance, she said “at the moment there are no elections.” Alliances have been made at the time of elections and at present there is none.
Ms Jayalalitha has spelt out a new theory of political alliances. According to her, an alliance struck at the time of an election remains valid for the duration of that contest only. After that, it simply vanishes into thin air. It may be recalled that, not long ago, there was much to-do about pre-poll and post-poll tie-ups. It was suggested after the fall of the H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral governments that their instability was the result of the fact that their constituents got together only after the elections. As opposed to that experience, the BJP claimed to have put together a pre-poll alliance when it came to power for the second time.
But even the saffron coalition ran into trouble from day one, and guess who was responsible for its travails! It was Ms Jayalalitha, of course, who was presumably acting in the belief that an understanding between parties, whether pre-poll or post-poll, lasts only as long as it serves her purpose. Her present observation implying that the arrangement that she had crafted before the polls with the PMK, the Tamil Maanila Congress and the Congress is no longer in existence is evidently motivated by her excellent showing in the poll. It is clearly this performance which has made her come to the conclusion that she can now dispense with her allies. Tactics of this nature are in keeping with her imperious behaviour towards all and sundry. But there may be more to her strange thesis than hauteur.
What she is probably also suggesting is that she can change friends and foes at will, depending on the need of the hour. In this respect, she is taking opportunism to its logical extreme. No wonder, there has been speculation about her teaming up with the NDA as well as the People’s Front.
The NDA, which also does not bother much about who is with it as long as such allies help it to stay in power, may not be averse to a renewed association with Jayalalitha. On the other hand, the People’s Front is apparently no less willing to turn a blind eye to her record of corruption as long as she pretends to advance the “secular” cause. Rarely has expediency had such a field day in Indian politics as at present.
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