DESPERATE GAMBIT

The AIADMK is banking on its development agenda and tall poll promises while relying on its allies to malign the DMK to win a third consecutive term

- Amarnath K. Menon

In the upcoming April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly election, Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami is faced with a somewhat Herculean task—winning a third consecutive term for the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Achieving this will match the record of party founder M.G. Ramachandran, the actor-turned-politician whose radiating charisma and zeal for people’s welfare won his party the assembly polls in 1977, 1980 and 1984. The party currently holds 124 seats in the 235-member house. The chief minister’s poll strategy has focused on promoting the AIADMK’s achievements in the past decade while relying on his allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), to target the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). In early March, the AIADMK signed a pact with the BJP, assigning it 20 seats for the assembly election.