By S R Gopal
The battle-lines are finally drawn in Tamil Nadu.
Two formidable fronts, led by the DMK and the AIADMK, are pitted against each other in the April 13 Assembly elections.
Like the cricket World Cup that is now on, some of the so-called minnows could upset the calculations of the bigwigs, making the 2011 Assembly polls a watershed election.
The DMK has retained its 2009 Lok Sabha poll allies - The Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) - and weaned away the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) from the AIADMK camp. It has also attracted the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KNMK) which caused the defeat of nearly half a dozen DMK front candidates, including some former Union ministers, in the western belt.
The AIADMK, on the other hand, is riding high on the momentum created by the new alliance with the DMDK, led by actor Vijayakanth, besides retaining its 2009 Lok Sabha poll allies CPM, CPI and the Vaiko-led MDMK.
Traditionally, the alliance between a regional party which seals a pact with the national party, the Congress in this case, has an upper hand in the Tamil Nadu elections. However, this election marks a change in the pattern with new alliances featuring smaller groupings that could cause political upheavals.
Image: An artist painting AIADMK symbol on a supporters face for a TN assembly election campaign in Chennai on Thursday, March 10, 2011.
Images: PTI, AFP, Movie Buzz
