File photo: Anbumani Ramadoss
NDA ally PMK today decided to form an alternative front for next year's Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and declared its youth wing chief and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss as its chief ministerial candidate while urging its cadres to emulate Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal to emerge victorious.
More than a year ahead of the polls, the party's special general council and political conference adopted a resolution naming Anbumani, son of party founder Dr S Ramadoss, as the chief ministerial candidate and resolved to lead an alternative front to free the state from the "clutches of Dravidian parties".
The resolution heaped praise on Anbumani for his "stellar work" during his stint as Union Health Minister and said he was "fully fit" for being named the chief ministerial candidate.
Though there were expectations that PMK, which has been highly critical of several of the schemes of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, might take a call on continuing its ties with NDA in the backdrop of Vaiko-led MDMK quitting it recently, there was no reference to it in the resolution.
The party decided to form an alternative front along with those who wanted to "save" Tamil Nadu from the "clutches of Dravidian parties", it said.
Addressing the meet, attended by a large gathering of party workers, Anbumani promised "a corruption free, growth oriented and people-centric regime" and appealed to the people to give his party one opportunity to usher in change.
Citing the spectacular win of AAP in Delhi Assembly polls, he said, "How it happened..he (Arvind Kejriwal) met all the voters in the past one year and similarly functionaries should go door-to-door and meet all 5.25 crore voters of Tamil Nadu.
"This year it is AAP tsunami, and next year it will be PMK Tsunami in Tamil Nadu," said Mr Ramadoss.
"Give us an opportunity once. You gave so many opportunities to AIADMK and DMK...we will work differently and bring investments, job opportunities and free education without spending a single paise," he said.
Outlining what his party would do if elected to power, he said it would implement prohibition, a long pending demand of the PMK, bring an Act to mandate time bound delivery of government services, provide access to free education, health, and farm inputs.
Requesting pardon for aligning with the DMK and AIADMK in the past, he said it was a big mistake which will not happen again "I seek your pardon for this," said Mr Ramadoss.