Rajnath's outreach to Stalin fails, DMK mulls Tamil candidate for Vice Presidential polls

Chennai: Before the announcement of C P Radhakrishnan as the NDA’s Vice President candidate, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin, seeking his support to propose the Maharashtra Governor as the consensus candidate. However, Stalin gave no commitment or response.

Highly placed sources told DH that the High Command in New Delhi also contacted “mutual friends” of the DMK and BJP to approach Stalin and seek his support for CPR, who is known for maintaining friendships across the political spectrum. “None of these efforts proved successful, and that is when the NDA went ahead and announced CPR as its candidate,” the source added.

Interestingly, CPR, who represented Coimbatore in the Lok Sabha twice, met Stalin on August 11, ostensibly to enquire about his health.

It was only after CPR was formally announced as the NDA nominee for the September 9 Vice President elections that the DMK decided to counter the move by pushing another Tamil as the candidate of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

According to sources, the DMK conveyed to its alliance partners at the national level that voting for CPR was not an option for the party due to his deep association with the RSS and BJP, but that the party also did not want to be seen as opposing a fellow Tamil.

The DMK also told I.N.D.I.A. bloc constituents that the party has larger stakes in the VP elections since the NDA candidate hails from Tamil Nadu, and that its suggestions should be given due weight.

The party is being very careful about its strategy, as the VP elections come just eight months before the state’s crucial assembly polls, where it will face a formidable AIADMK-BJP alliance and the newcomer actor Vijay, among others.

“When we can’t vote for CPR, a Tamil, we must explain to the public why we did not, and citing only his political affiliation for our decision wouldn’t have been convincing. That’s when the idea of fielding another Tamil against CPR was suggested, and several names were discussed,” the source added.

The name of Tiruchi Siva, a Rajya Sabha member, was considered, but many within the party felt that a political nominee should not be fielded.

Subsequently, the name of former ISRO director Mayilsamy Annadurai was suggested as the Opposition candidate. Annadurai has recently appeared on the DMK dais voicing opposition to the BJP, particularly on issues like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He was the project director of Chandrayaan-I, India’s first unmanned lunar mission in 2008, and held key positions in the country’s space agency during his 35-year career.

“His name has been suggested, but no formal decision has been taken. We will have to wait until Tuesday to see what happens. The DMK wants its voice to be heard this time, since stakes are higher for the party,” another source said.

These developments come amid public appeals by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, TN BJP chief Nainar Nagenthiran, and former state unit chief K Annamalai to support Radhakrishnan’s candidature.