AIADMK chief nets Vijayakant step-brother

In the personality-oriented politics of Tamil Nadu, family is the first casualty. Fighting a bitter battle with foe-turned-ally-turned-foe, the DMDK and its leader Vijayakant, CM and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa scored a point when she inducted Vijayakant’s step-brother into her party.

At a meeting in Madurai Friday, over 3,000 people, apparently belonging to other parties, joined the AIADMK in Jaya’s presence. The couple who stood out among them was A Balraj, a step-brother of Vijayakant, and his wife Venkatalakshmi.

The ‘defection’ has no political value other than embarrassing the rival. The CM is not new to such tactics. Some years ago, she had awarded Rs 5 lakh to DMK president M Karunanidhi’s estranged son M K Muthu at a function.