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Journalism of Courage
The DMKs desperate attempts to bring in votes required to send Kanimozhi back to the Rajya Sabha had its first success when Manithaneya Makkal Katchi pledged the support of its two MLAs after a meeting with party chief M Karunanidhi Wednesday.
The Islamist party is a former ally of the AIADMK.
Since the four candidates of AIADMK and CPIs D Raja are assured of victory without our support,we were keen not to waste two votes, said party leader M H Jawahirulla.
While this cheered the DMK camp,they still have a long way to go. Of the six RS seats that fell vacant,AIADMK will win four,and back the CPI to enable its national secretary win. For the last seat,the contest is between Kanimozhi and DMDKs A R Elangovan.
A candidate requires 34 votes to win,and if numbers do not add up for the last seat,the candidate securing higher first preference votes will be declared the winner. DMK (23+2) and DMDK (22) are dependent on the support of smaller parties the Congress (5),PMK (3),PT (2).
Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas stringent drive against the PMK leadership after Marakkanam violence and the isolation of the party due to its casteist rhetoric has forced it into a corner where the DMK is the only viable partner.
While this is a prestige fight for the DMK,theres also a political price to pay. The smaller parties are negotiating with the DMK for an assured seat in the coming Lok Sabha elections. But Jawahirullah said the support had no bearing on the LS elections.
An analyst pointed out that the one person who can possibly decide the fate of the two candidates is Jaya. Since she fell out with DMDK chief Vijayakant,her party has encouraged dissent and managed to get support of seven of his MLAs. With no love lost for either of the two candidates fighting for the sixth seat,Jaya can use extra votes to defeat the one she dislikes the most.
