Vijayakanth to be blamed for mess

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Chennai: If the DMDK's A.R. Elan­govan falls in the June 27 Rajya Sabha poll, he has only person to 'thank': his own ‘Captain’. It would have been cakewalk for him if only Vijayakanth kept his flock of 28 MLAs together and more importantly, not antagonised his 2011 ally Jayalalithaa with his frequent indiscriminate jibes.
Now with seven of the 29 DMDK legislators turning rebels, Elangovan's winning chances have irredeemably receded, despite the expectation that the Congress might gift him its five votes-notwithstanding the DMK trying hard to gain the Congress support for returning its Kanimozhi back to the Upper House.
Political observers say that the leadership of both the Dravidian majors, the AIADMK and the DMK, are keen on ensuring that Captain does not remain long on the state political turf. "They do not want to yield even an inch on the Tamil Nadu political platform to anyone else. And by his impulsive style of functioning, Vijayakanth has managed to isolate himself, barring a few friends in the Congress party", said a former MP.
Grapevine has it that the AIADMK's bitterness with Captain's ways got so deep that its supremo did not much mind the MMK and PT giving their votes-two each-to DMK's Kanimozhi as the AIADMK is in any case assured of its four seats.
A drubbing on June 27, which appears most likely given the intense negotiation between DMK and Congress at Delhi, would hurt his image as the Leader of Opposition, a position he might even lose to M K Stalin if the defection spree plaguing his party continues.
Also, it would push his party rank and file into depression, something not only the ruling party but also DMK president M Karunanidhi would wish for. Karunanidhi would not want DMDK's continuance as a political force.
All this embarrassment could have been spared if he had not offended the AIADMK so much or at least heeded the counsel of his party presidium chairman Panruti S Ramachandran to keep away from the RS polls, say some DMDK insiders. "Captain's foray into politics was a disastrous accident", said a DMDK rebel, adding, "I liked him better as Kollywood hero".