Tamil Nadu missed out on Central government schemes because DMK saw BJP as an enemy, says G.K. Vasan

G.K. Vasan critiques DMK's neglect of Central schemes, urging collaboration for Tamil Nadu's development in upcoming elections.

Chennai Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) president G.K. Vasan in an interview with The Hindu said people of Tamil Nadu are angry as the state missed several schemes due to the DMK government treating the ruling BJP as an “enemy”. Expressing confidence that the AIADMK-led NDA, of which his party is a constituent, is the “winning front” in the upcoming Assembly elections, he said the DMK and actor C Joseph Vijay’s TVK could fight for the “second position”. Edited excerpts

In 2016, you refused to join the AIADMK alliance because its leader Jayalalithaa asked TMC (M) candidates to contest on the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol. But in 2021, you contested on ‘Two Leaves’. Now, what prompted you field your party’s five candidates on the BJP’s ‘Lotus’ symbol?

TMC (M) was revived in 2014, and 2016 was our first Assembly election. We joined the third front [People’s Welfare Front]. We wanted to contest on Moopanar’s ‘Cycle’ symbol. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the ‘Cycle’ symbol in 2016 because there was an Election Commission case from the Panthers Party of Kashmir. So, we were forced to get a new symbol. Since we are a party that champions farmers’ rights, we chose ‘Coconut Grove’. Unfortunately, the entire front was not able to win in 2016. The next election was the 2019 Lok Sabha election, and we were part of the NDA led by the AIADMK. Even then, we did not get the symbol and contested on ‘Auto’ in one Lok Sabha seat. In 2021, we wanted 12 seats, but we got only six. Even though there was no Election Commission case then, we took a policy decision that if we did not get a minimum of 12 seats, we would contest on the symbol of the party with which we are in direct alliance—the AIADMK. So, we contested on ‘Two Leaves’. In 2024 [parliamentary polls], we joined the BJP-led NDA, got three seats, and contested on our own ‘Cycle’ symbol. Now, again in 2026, there is a problem in getting our symbol. Since we are in direct alliance with the BJP, we have decided to contest on ‘Lotus’. If I do not take the ‘Lotus’ symbol this time and have to go for my own symbol, I would get either ‘Chair’, ‘Table’, ‘Cricket Ball’, or ‘Hockey Stick’, which we cannot take to the voters in a short time.

If your candidates get elected on the ‘Lotus’ symbol, they technically become members of the BJP. Wouldn’t this impair the TMC (M)’s growth and long-term prospects of getting ECI recognition?

That is not the technical point. They are members of the TMC (M) party, and they are our MLAs. When there is a whip [by the BJP], it has to be followed. It is not a new rule for TMC (M) alone. Throughout the country, it is the rule for all parties that choose to contest on the symbol of another party, as per the Election Commission norms.

The question was not only in the context of voting in the Assembly. In general, representing your party in the Assembly, while contesting on another party’s symbol, won’t that make a difference?