Premlata Vijayakanth appointed DMDK general secretary in a surprise move

CHENNAI: In a surprise move, Premalatha Vijayakanth was unanimously elected as the general secretary of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) at the party’s key meeting of executive and general council members held at the GPM Palace Marriage Hall in Thiruverkadu on Thursday.

Vijayant, the party’s founder and former general secretary, will continue to hold the nominal office of founder and will also take all important decisions related to the alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Soon after the meeting was called, Premlata (she had been the party treasurer for a long time) was announced to have ascended to the post and she fell at Vijayakanth’s feet to seek his blessings.

Although Vijayakanth had done well in health and the party was led by Premalatha, not many expected her to now be made the general secretary. The notice of the meeting said that Premlata will lead the meeting after discussing the future plans of the party.

However, it seems likely that it will take over the reins of the party that was formed in 2005 as an alternative to the two great Dravidians – DMK and AIADMK – when its iconic leaders M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa were fully active in politics.

Vijayakanth, a popular actor, said that his party worked only in the early elections and the 2006 assembly elections, in which it participated in all 234 electoral districts. Only Vijayakanth was elected member of the assembly, while the party got 8.38 percent votes.

In the 2009 assembly elections, the party formed an alliance with the AIADMK and won 29 of the 40 seats it contested. But the party faced abandonment and lost its opposition status.

For the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party formed an alliance with the BJP and lost its vote percentage. As the party’s troubles increased, Vijayakanth became ill and Premlata directed the show for him. In the last elections of 2021, they had aligned with TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK and got very poor results in the elections.

Now it is preparing to face the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Premlata and Vijaykant will decide on the alliance just before the elections.