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AIADMK meet to discuss alliance, MGR legacy

By IANS

Chennai : MGR’s legacy and 33 percent reservation for women in legislatures and institutions will top the agenda of a crucial AIADMK meeting Wednesday, as Tamil Nadu’s main opposition party begins preparing for the Lok Sabha elections.

The top leadership of the party that has been alternating with its archrival, the DMK, in ruling Tamil Nadu for more than a decade is expected to soon take a decision on which parties to ally with in the Lok Sabha elections due in a year’s time.

Party general secretary J. Jayalalitha, former chief minister, is expected to be given a free hand in taking this crucial decision when the AIADMK executive committee and general body meet at Vanagaram on the outskirts of Chennai.

The legacy of AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran, a charismatic actor turned politician, will also come up for discussion.

Actors-turned-politicians Vijaykanth, a sitting legislator, and Sarath Kumar, a former MP for two terms, are also claiming MGR’s legacy, saying they walk in the late leader’s footsteps.

The AIADMK is, therefore, expected to formally claim through a resolution that only Jayalalitha is heir to MGR’s political legacy.

The issue of 33 percent reservation for women will also be taken up as Sarath Kumar’s party, the AISMK, championed this cause earlier this week.

The meeting comes ahead of Jayalalitha’s 60th birthday Feb 24, when the party leadership begins a series of public meetings to interact with its constituencies. The meetings will continue till March 1.

About 3,000 senior AIADMK leaders are expected to attend Wednesday’s meet. However, T.T.V. Dinakaran, nephew of Jayalalitha’s aide N. Sasikala, and Mylapore legislator S.V. Shekhar have reportedly been not invited to the meet.