DMDK MLA sides with Jaya but stops short of defecting

Sureshkumar met AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at her office in the secretariat apparently to praise her recent success in the Cauvery dispute.

A government statement said the MLA lauded Jaya for being able to go beyond the Centres indifference in notifying the six-year-old verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in the Gazette of India and the intransigence of Karnataka in sharing water.

In a political culture where the existence of a rival is only acknowledged through criticism,a meeting without the specific direction of the party leadership is considered to be the most telling sign of defection.

Last year,four DMDK MLAs met Jayalalithaa and lauded her governments performance. In the House,they were given separate seats. Much to the chagrin of DMDK,they showered praises on the government too. Four DMDK legislators were suspended for attacking the dissidents.

Though the AIADMK has a brutal majority of 150 members in a House of 234,it has been chipping away the DMDK that has only 29 members,including the five dissidents. The leaders of the two parties,Jaya and actor Vijayakant,had fought the election together against the DMK-led coalition. But has since been involved in a bitter wrangle.