Sep 28,1998

Jayalalitha's local allies chart an independent course by pledging unconditional support to Vajpayee. To her discomfiture, even Karunanidhi sends similar signals.

By Vaasanthi

Jayalalitha is not used to being cast in side roles. As the script ordained this time. The Marumallarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)'s mega rally of the week in Chennai, marking the 90th birth anniversary of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, took place without the lady from Poes Garden. The absence of Jayalalitha, who held a parallel rally of the AIADMK at Tiruchi on the same day, indicated a major fissure in the anti-DMK coalition that she had assiduously built up. With the BJP and the DMK-- one Jayalalitha's estranged ally, the other a proclaimed anathema -- sharing the dais at the MDMK rally at Marina Beach, it was a prelude to the changing of power equations in a state dominated by caste politics, the echoes of which are sure to travel across the Vindhyas.

The parallel rallies had a resounding message to convey: there is a virtual break in the AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu front that supported Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Government. The remark of the prime minister that "the Chennai rally marks a new dimension in Tamil Nadu politics" was more than significant. It signalled the endeavour of the Dravidian parties to befriend the BJP, which until recently was seen as a communal party run by Hindi zealots.

While Jayalalitha sulked, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko celebrated. When he first unveiled plans to commemorate Annadurai's birth anniversary with a party of the entire BJP-led coalition, Jayalalitha had scoffed at his suggestion. But at Marina, it was certainly Vaiko who was having the last laugh. The response was overwhelming and among those to fly in from Delhi and elsewhere were Vajpayee, Home Minister L.K. Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes and chief ministers Parkash Singh Badal and Farooq Abdullah. By accepting Vaiko's invitation to attend a function that was deliberately boycotted by Jayalalitha, the BJP leaders and their allies from the north gave a clear indication that they would respect anyone who respected them.

Six months ago, it was all so different. Then it was Jayalalitha who had organised a rally at Marina Beach and lined up the MDMK, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) behind the BJP to mark the launch of its campaign south of the Vindhyas. But last Tuesday, the MDMK, PMK and TRC publicly declared that they would stick by the BJP even if the AIADMK were to pull out. At Tiruchi, meanwhile, Jayalalitha warned her allies against "kicking the ladder which they used to climb up". Used to their refrain that "Amma will take an appropriate decision at the appropriate time", she least expected that her coalition partners would chart a political course independent of her. "Jaya's bluff has been called and her threats have been neutralised," says N. Ram, editor, Frontline. "But she still remains the bigger face of the coalition in the state."

For the moment, that is. The drifting of the allies apart, what Jayalalitha is more worried about are the parallel attempts by the DMK to pledge support to the BJP. DMK chief and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi not only rolled out the red carpet for Vajpayee at the airport, he also brought along with him more than a dozen ministers and senior DMK functionaries. In contrast, Jayalalitha was conspicuous by her absence. Earlier too, Karunanidhi had sent reassuring signals to the BJP that the DMK was willing to support the party if it proved to be secular. "We won't say no to support from any quarters," Vajpayee told a press meet, adding that he had raised the issue with Karunanidhi and assured him that BJP was secular.

Not surprising then that Jayalalitha was spewing fire at Karunanidhi at the AIADMK rally. She spoke of how she would send him to jail when she came back to power. "I shall convert the women's cell where I stayed into a men's cell," she vowed, "so that he can experience the same privations I suffered." There were other irritants too. The prime minister's announcements on the language policy and the Sethusamudram project from the MDMK platform made it appear that they were Vaiko's victories. The visit also saw Vaiko and Karunanidhi come together. The day's television news made more than a fleeting note of it: there were full shots of the two leaders clasping their hands together, of Vaiko and PMK leader S. Ramadoss exchanging pleasantries with Karunanidhi without the fear of Amma's ire.

Sensing the impact, Jayalalitha tried to make amends. She returned to Chennai the very next morning and ostensibly sought an audience with Vajpayee at Raj Bhavan. Having been refused, she met the defence minister. At the end of a 90-minute meeting, she told him that the aiadmk was very much part of the coalition.

Eventually, says political analyst Cho Ramaswamy, the BJP's willingness to welcome a realignment involving the DMK would force Jayalalitha to ditch the BJP and approach the Congress. While speculation does its rounds, it is clear that Jayalalitha is keeping her options open for now. She believes that not all has been lost: the massive gathering at Tiruchi had been very encouraging. It is this power to draw the crowds that Jayalalitha is now banking upon to bounce back into the main role.

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