A Vijayakanth at a rally in the Nilgiris
A Vijayakanth, better known as
Captain, tried today to persuade the Nilgiris to turn its back on A Raja, who it elected to Parliament in 2009.
Captain generals the DMDK, a party he founded in 2005, which has tied up for the national election with the BJP. At his rally in the Nilgiris today, about 600 kilometres from Chennai, he sought to place both Mr Raja, who belongs to the DMK, and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the context of the corruption cases against them.
"Nilgiris is caught between Kodanad Rani (Ms Jayalaithaa) and Spectrum Raja. Both are two evils. It's time for the Nilgiris to wake up and choose Narendra Modi for corruption-free good governance," he said. Jayalalithaa owns a palatial home here. Mr Raja was imprisoned for allegedly using his term as Telecom Minister to accept bribes in return for granting cellular network licenses to ineligible companies.
In 2009, the DMDK did not win a single of Tamil Nadu's 39 parliamentary seats. But in the state election three years ago, it won 29 seats in the Tamil Nadu assembly, announcing its import as a partner for a larger political party.
Captain, once a popular film star, will not run for Parliament - he is a member of the state legislature. His covenant with the BJP entitles him to 14 candidates for the national election. It's not clear yet if his party will directly field a candidate against Mr Raja. The BJP has melded alliances with three other regional parties and is negotiating another partnership with the PMK headed by Dr Ramadoss.