The Maanga

The MDMK was part of the DMK lead DPA or the Democratic Progressive Alliance for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. With the front having swept that poll, the party won four seats. However, in the subsequent Assembly Elections for Tamil Nadu in 2006, the MDMK aligned itself with the AIADMK and consequently was out of the DPA. The coalition at the center though is called UPA or United Progressive Alliance. In the last three years, the MDMK’s four MPs haven’t raised any significant issue and were largely ignored. The distinction between Democracy and Unity was irrelevant. Now, with numbers being all important, that scenario has changed.

Two of the DPA’s constituents have walked out: PMK and MDMK.

What the MDMK does can be controlled by the opposition BJP if it so desires — while the PMK with a Cabinet Minister is more likely to vote itself in. The UPA government’s survival, if and when that happens, will only serve to indicate the opposition’s prepardness for elections. Consequently, one could argue, the risk-reward ratio is stacked more against the BJP than the Indian National Congress. However, one will not.

The question a Tamil is tempted to ask but will not is: if D Raja, the spokesperson of a political party that has 10 members in the house gets to address the national media as much as he does, shouldn’t the MDMK be given at least 40% of that time?

Update: Turns out, the BJP agrees with me.