DMDK launches poll parleys with AIADMK

Chennai, Feb 24 (PTI) Actor-politician Vijayakant''s DMDKtoday launched formal poll parleys with the opposition AIADMKto "oust DMK from power".

Though backdoor negotiations were going on for some time,this is the first time that leaders of both parties met toinitiate poll talks.

A team of senior DMDK leaders, including ''Panrutty'' SRamanchandran and Sutheesh met AIADMK''s poll panel, comprisingparty MLAs, O Panneerselvam, S Jayaraman and K A Sengottiyan.

After the talks, DMDK presidium chairman Ramachandrantold reporters that his party was committed to ousting DMKfrom power, the reason why the party had initiated poll talkswith AIADMK for a possible alliance.

However, no decision had been arrived at yet onseat-sharing, he added.

Though Vijayakant has been consistently holding that hisalliance was only with the people and no other politicalparty, the DMDK however opted for tie up under pressure fromparty cadres.

Founded in 2005 by Vijayakant, DMDK made its debut in thenext year''s Assembly elections, with Vijayakant himselfwinning from the Viruddhachalam seat even as his party polledeight per cent popular votes.

However, the party''s performance in the subsequentby-polls and 2009 Lok Sabha polls were below par even as itplayed spoilsport to AIADMK''s prospects by splitting thevotes.

Speculations of a possible tie-up between the two partieswas going around for sometime before the two chose to make itoffcial today.

Meanwhile, an AIADMK release said talks were held betweenthe two parties "in order to ensure the DMDK''s participationin the AIADMK-led alliance." PTI SA SR APR