Jaya takes a U-turn, backs BJP in Prez poll
AIADMK and MDMK vote for BJP candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the presidential elections.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Dealing a damaging blow to the Third Front experiment, the AIADMK and the MDMK on Thursday broke ranks with the United National Progressive Alliance to vote for BJP candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the presidential elections.
All MLAs of the two Tamil parties, barring party chief J Jayalalithaa and two MDMK MLAs, voted in Thursday’s election. Leaders such as N Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and Mulayam Singh of the SP have been engaged in projecting the front as a credible alternative to the Congress and the BJP.
A UNPA meeting held as late as July 14 had decided that the front would abstain during voting for the presidential polls. Ms Jayalalithaa, who was present at that meeting, had then said that the front had taken such a decision in order to keep an equal distance from the Congress and the BJP.
Ms Jayalalithaa later came up with a somewhat bizarre explanation for the whole episode by claiming that her MLAs and MPs had voted without her knowledge.
In a statement from Chennai, she blamed the Election Commission for creating “extreme confusion” by issuing a press note on July 17 and said AIADMK MLAs and MPs had come to the conclusion that they would have to face action if they did not cast their vote.
She also added that she had gone out of Chennai in the early hours of the day and learnt of what had transpired in her absence only in the afternoon. “There was no one to explain the correct position to them since convening of any meeting was forbidden and would be misinterpreted as issuance of a whip,” the statement said.
Regional factors seemed to have played a crucial role here. AIADMK’s political rival, the ruling DMK, is part of the central coalition backing Pratibha Patil. By abstaining from voting during the polls, the AIADMK would have been seen as indirectly helping UPA.
Thus, by not casting her vote herself but getting all her MLAs and MPs to vote for the BJP, Ms Jayalalithaa seems to have attempted to spell out her opposition to the UPA while also keeping up the show of being part of the Third Front.
The move is also a signal that the AIADMK leader is keeping her options about joining NDA open. What remains to be seen now is how other parties in the third front react to the incident. Left parties have said that they knew that AIADMK, but not the TDP and SP, would side with BJP. The Congress in Tamil Nadu has said that she has “betrayed” the third front.
This is not the first time that the AIADMK has done a U-turn on its allies under Ms Jayalalithaa. The most famous example dates to 1998 when the AIADMK chief agreed to be at the famous tea party with Congress chief Ms Sonia Gandhi while supporting the BJP government at the Centre. The party was the beginning of the end of NDA government.
All MLAs of the two Tamil parties, barring party chief J Jayalalithaa and two MDMK MLAs, voted in Thursday’s election. Leaders such as N Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and Mulayam Singh of the SP have been engaged in projecting the front as a credible alternative to the Congress and the BJP.
A UNPA meeting held as late as July 14 had decided that the front would abstain during voting for the presidential polls. Ms Jayalalithaa, who was present at that meeting, had then said that the front had taken such a decision in order to keep an equal distance from the Congress and the BJP.
Ms Jayalalithaa later came up with a somewhat bizarre explanation for the whole episode by claiming that her MLAs and MPs had voted without her knowledge.
In a statement from Chennai, she blamed the Election Commission for creating “extreme confusion” by issuing a press note on July 17 and said AIADMK MLAs and MPs had come to the conclusion that they would have to face action if they did not cast their vote.
She also added that she had gone out of Chennai in the early hours of the day and learnt of what had transpired in her absence only in the afternoon. “There was no one to explain the correct position to them since convening of any meeting was forbidden and would be misinterpreted as issuance of a whip,” the statement said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Regional factors seemed to have played a crucial role here. AIADMK’s political rival, the ruling DMK, is part of the central coalition backing Pratibha Patil. By abstaining from voting during the polls, the AIADMK would have been seen as indirectly helping UPA.
Thus, by not casting her vote herself but getting all her MLAs and MPs to vote for the BJP, Ms Jayalalithaa seems to have attempted to spell out her opposition to the UPA while also keeping up the show of being part of the Third Front.
The move is also a signal that the AIADMK leader is keeping her options about joining NDA open. What remains to be seen now is how other parties in the third front react to the incident. Left parties have said that they knew that AIADMK, but not the TDP and SP, would side with BJP. The Congress in Tamil Nadu has said that she has “betrayed” the third front.
This is not the first time that the AIADMK has done a U-turn on its allies under Ms Jayalalithaa. The most famous example dates to 1998 when the AIADMK chief agreed to be at the famous tea party with Congress chief Ms Sonia Gandhi while supporting the BJP government at the Centre. The party was the beginning of the end of NDA government.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
