| ‘Jayalalitha
should opt out of CM’s race even if AIADMK wins a majority’
 Five
years can be a very long time in politics indeed. In the last Assembly
elections in Tamil Nadu five years ago, actor, journalist and Rajya
Sabha member Cho Ramaswamy was
known to have launched a crusade against AIADMK general secretary.
This time, he’s firmly on her side. Reason: Jayalalitha has
been punished by the court, and the DMK government is soft on Tamil
extremist groups. However, Ramaswamy does acknowledge that there’s
no legal bar preventing Jayalalitha from becoming the Chief Minister,
he tells B. KOLAPPAN she
should opt out of the race to set a healthy precedent.
What
will be the outcome of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections?
Before the opinion polls and the exit poll conducted by Doordarshan,
I thought AIADMK had an edge, but I did not expect them to sweep
the elections. I thought the alliance would have a comfortable majority,
but I wasn’t that sure about AIADMK. The picture is now confusing.
I’m also taking into consideration the fact that nearly five
per cent of the identity card holders found their names missing
in the voters’ list. I don’t know how it happened. Despite
this, I still feel the AIADMK alliance has an edge.
If
AIADMK wins the elections, can Jayalalitha become Chief Minister?
As per the constitution, I find no legal bar on Jayalalitha
becoming the Chief Minister. The prime consideration for the Governor
in such circumstances is to see whether the chief ministerial candidate
is capable of commanding the confidence of the house. Once she is
elected by the majority of the members, that is assured.
The question,
is whether a convicted person can be CM. While all conventions are
against it, I do not find any statutary prohibition. Take the case
of Balakrishna Pillai. If he wins the election and is elected as
the leader by a majority of the MLAs in the Assembly in Kerala,
can the governor say he can’t swear him in? There, the question
of disqualification does not arise because he is a sitting MLA.
So the law itself distinguishes between a sitting MLA and others.
It’s not as if the law prohibits all convicted persons from
assuming office.
Another question
is, how could a person disqualifed to contest the elections become
the CM? The disqualification arises out of a statute probibition,
not a constitutional one. In Jayalalitha’s case an appeal is
pending. There could be a stay of conviction or the sentence could
be reduced enabling her to contest. When all these possibilities
are open, how can the Governor anticipate that the appeal will not
be allowed?
| Cho
hedges his bets |
|
On the future of MDMK
If MDMK fairs very badly in the elections, it could have
the sadistic satisfaction of spoiling the prospects of DMK
candidates in many places.
On TMC
If it does well, it will have a good future even if it
intends merging with Congress at a later point of time.
In that case, where will Chidambaram go?
TMC would rather go with Congress than Chidambaram, since
the cadres have whole-heartedly endorsed Moopanar’s decision
to have an alliance with AIADMK.
The future of caste-based parties
They will lose their relevence if DMK is defeated.
|
There’s
a view that as long as she stays disqualifed, she must not stake
her claim of Chief Ministership.
In fact, I have written in my magazine Tughlaq that she should opt
out of this race even if the AIADMK or alliance wins a majority.
That will set the right precedent. We should create good conventions
and that can happen only when she opts out of the race.
There is another view that if AIADMK fails to win a majority, the
allies will pressurise Jayalalitha to accomodate them into the government.
I would say it’s a possibilty. It would be better for AIADMK
to take others into the cabinet for the sake of the government’s
stability. The government will not able to survive for long if it
depends on outside support. Whether it is AIADMK or DMK, if they
are not able to win a majority on their own, they should form a
coalition government.
DMK says they have offered good governance. What will be their position
in the event that Jayalalitha wins?
When good governance does not reach the comman man, those who claim
such a goverance will get defeated. I don’t think that building
flyovers constitutes good governance. If DMK gets defeated, it will
be in for hard times because Jayalalitha will naturally do to DMK
what DMK did to her.
Rajnikant
has stayed unusually silent this election...
Because
there was no big issue this time. In the last election, the issue
was the ouster of Jayalalitha from power and that has been achieved.
Now it is up to the DMK with its performance to see itself re-elected.
Will the actor ever enter politics?
I
wouldn't rule it out. But I can’t say he will definitely do
so.
How long would that take?
Perhaps,
as long as it takes for a real change in the political culture of
the state.
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