MDMK Durai Vaiko interview: ‘Making us contest on DMK symbol was humiliating, against social justice’

After the DMK-led alliance’s debacle in the recent assembly election, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and his son and principal secretary Durai Vaiko publicly expressed their displeasure over contesting on DMK’s ‘rising sun’ symbol. In an interview Durai Vaiko says the party felt “insulted” and “humiliated”, and the June 27 meeting of MDMK general council would decide on the party’s future course. Excerpts:

Does the road ahead for MDMK lead to TVK?
Not necessarily. What I said was any major decision, particularly one concerning alliance, can be taken only after discussions in the party’s general council, our highest decision-making body which will meet on June 27.

Why are you unhappy with DMK?It’s not just me. Almost all allies of DMK were unhappy with the seat-sharing arrangement. But, in the interest of alliance unity, we accepted it. The bigger issue for us was the symbol. We repeatedly requested to contest on our symbol, pointing out that a recognized political party risks losing its identity if it does not contest elections under its own banner.

Initially, we were told we could contest one of the four seats on our symbol, and we signed the agreement. Later we were asked to contest all four seats on the DMK’s ‘rising sun’ symbol. That hurt our cadres who felt insulted, and they began questioning the purpose of the party’s existence. The rank and file were demoralized, yet we won two seats – and lost another by around 2,000 votes.

Would MDMK have won all the seats if the party contested on own symbol? IUML contested and won on the ‘ladder’ symbol, which is not particularly popular. I won a Lok Sabha election on the ‘matchbox’ symbol with only two weeks to familiarize voters with it.

When a candidate is required to contest on another party’s symbol, he must resign from the parent party and be a member of the party whose symbol he is contesting on. After the election, he is legally a member of that party in the assembly. Therefore, those elected on ‘rising sun’ symbol are DMK MLAs, not MDMK MLAs. That goes beyond symbolism and touches the party’s political identity and existence. For us it is embarrassing, humiliating.

What are the reasons for the DMK-led alliance’s defeat? People, especially youngsters, wanted a change. TVK’s victory is unique. I am saying this in an apolitical way. It goes against divisive politics and against money power. For the first time in Tamil Nadu, these formulas have been broken.

Your father Vaiko was also unhappy. It is not about my father being unhappy with DMK. It is about being unhappy with certain issues, like seat-sharing and symbol. For 10 years, we have been part of the DMK-led alliance. We had our good moments. We stood for a common cause, to keep out communal politics. But the symbol issue goes against democracy, the foundation of social justice.

Do you regret having aligned with DMK?I don’t regret contesting in DMK alliance. I only regret agreeing to contest in the ‘rising sun’ symbol.

Will you support TVK?Since our (two) MLAs are technically DMK legislators in the assembly, they cannot vote against the DMK whip. That does not prevent us from expressing our views or raising concerns.

How do you rate the performance of TVK govt so far?It is too early to assess. We should give it at least six months. The administration faces significant challenges, including a massive debt burden, financial constraints, an unsupportive Centre, and a largely inexperienced cabinet.

Issues such as drug menace and intense political opposition will make governance difficult. If, after a year, it fails to deliver on its promises, it will face criticism, including from us. As a fledgling party in power, it has many challenges to navigate, and I hope it succeeds in fulfilling its commitments.

What’s MDMK’s best way forward? Irrespective of alliances, this is the time for MDMK to reinvent and reorganize itself. While Dravidian ideology remains important, today’s youth are focused on development, quality education, healthcare and infrastructure. MDMK must adapt to these changing aspirations and focus on issues that directly affect people’s daily lives.