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Jaya may contest Lok Sabha polls

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

AIADMK chief Jayalalitha Jayaram may contest the Lok Sabha polls.

Though no decision has been taken yet, the party's traditional stronghold of Gobichettipalayam is being considered for her contesting the polls, according to informed sources.

Simultaneously, the AIADMK is also likely to field V V D Dinakaran, a nephew of Sasikala Natarajan, the live-in confidant of Jayalalitha, from Periyakulam, another party stronghold. If nominated, Dinakaran, who hit the national media headlines as Jayalalitha's manager in Delhi at the height of the Vajpayee government's ouster, would replace Sedapatti R Muthiah.

A one-time loyalist who was the state assembly speaker when Jayalalitha became chief minister in 1991, Muthiah was also rewarded with a ministerial berth at the Centre, only for him to quit after a Madras court framed charges in a wealth case. He is said to have fallen out of Jayalalitha's favour after 'forgetting' to cast his crucial vote on the confidence motion moved by the Vajpayee government.

Another likely AIADMK nominee is S Malaisamy, a retired IAS officer, who was home secretary under Jayalalitha, before being named the state Election Commissioner. Malaisamy is now leader of the Thevar Peravai, an organisation of the militant Thevar community, dominant in the southern districts. He is said to be in the good books also of Sasikala Natarajan, a Thevar herself. With Periyakulam, a Thevar stronghold, possibly going to Dinakaran, the search is on for a 'safe seat' for Malaisamy in the 'Thevar belt'.

According to informed sources, Jayalalitha is keen on fielding new faces in the coming elections, as there is a general feeling of 'indifference' about most party members in the dissolved Lok Sabha. Included in the list are former AIADMK ministers, M Thambidurai, and Kadambur R Janarthanam. "But in their case, Jayalalitha may still yield, after laying down clear-cut conditions for their re-nomination."

"As things stand, the AIADMK list will reflect the party's intention to play a greater role in the post-poll scenario than assigned at the end of last year's elections," says the source. "Jayalalitha would like to be there on hand, to exploit any situation that may be thrown up in case of a 'hung Parliament'. What's more, she would like to be there with her team."

"But all these are only early thoughts," cautions the source. "But thoughts that hold a key to the AIADMK's line of thinking." According to him, "A lot, however, will depend on the final shape of the electoral alliance that the party is able to put together, and whether or not the Congress is in it."

As of now, both the Congress and the AIADMK are desperate for each other's company. But given their conflicting ambitions, that may still be some distance away. "The Congress is there to try capture power, and to make Sonia Gandhi, prime minister. The AIADMK's national ambitions are no less. As Jayalalitha claimed last month, the party believes that no post-poll government would be possible without its support."

In this context, the source refers to the AIADMK's hopes of Jayalalitha coming to hold a crucial office in government. "What office it will be, can be gauged only by the voter mood, not just in Tamil Nadu, but across the country," says he. "But deep down, the AIADMK leadership seems to feel that only Jayalalitha as the torch-bearer of the party at Delhi would be able to 'render justice' to the party and herself in the various cases pending against them all."

The Congress-AIADMK talks are bogged down, with the former wanting at least 15 Lok Sabha seats and the latter not willing to concede more than six.

Mediators have suggested 10 seats, which could be upped by another two, at Sonia Gandhi's 'personal intervention'. Both parties are caught on the horns of a dilemma. According to the source, Sonia Gandhi is believed to have told party leaders from Tamil Nadu that the Congress may not be keen on anything less than 15 seats. "Though the party is weak in Tamil Nadu, our alliance in the state, and also the faith that the ally had reposed in the party earlier, had heralded the Congress's victories in the three neighbouring states of Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It's for this reason that the Congress is keen on the AIADMK alliance. But it's also for this reason, it's equally keen on the number of seats it get."

But such a course clashes with the scheme of things, Jayalalitha has reportedly charted out for her party and its coalition. "For the AIADMK to increase its bargaining power in a 'hung Parliament', it should have as many seats as possible. But the party also recognises the need for having allies like the Congress, whose minor contribution to the kitty would help," adds the source. The AIADMK, according to him, would like to contest as many as 25 of the total 40 seats from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

A sidelight has been thrown in focus, in between, by the Dalit-strong Puthiya Thamizhagam leader, Dr K Krishnaswamy. After a meeting with Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, he wanted all intended allies of the national party to publicly acknowledge the leadership, as also the prime ministerial candidacy of Sonia Gandhi. Jayalalitha was prompt in sending in her reaction. She said the AIADMK would not align itself with any party that tied up with the Puthiya Thamizhagam, thus sending out a veiled threat to the Congress high command, as also on the Sonia Gandhi leadership of the 'anti-BJP formation', not just in the state.

Friends of the Congress and the AIADMK are said to be negotiating a peace process, for CWC member A K Antony to meet Jayalalitha for a third time, and finalise the alliance pact. Antony, who was Sonia Gandhi's emissary twice earlier, himself said on Sunday that the party had not closed its AIADMK option. Yet, the Congress leadership, it's said, is watching the moves of the anti-AIADMK Tamil Maanila Congress, which is scheduled to announce its 'third front' formally, at Madurai on July 15. "Depending on the people's mood towards the TMC, the Congress may decide its future course in the state," adds the source.

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