Vijayakanth's DMDK gets long rope from EC; retains state party status
In 2011, the DMDK won 29 seats with a vote share of 7.88%. Since then, its vote share has been plummeting, and none of its candidates were able to win in any subsequent election
Tamil actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), despite losing all elections since 2011 and not winning even a single seat in recent Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, continues to enjoy state party status.
As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a party must have got at least 8% of the total votes polled or won at least two seats in the Assembly elections, and got 6% of total votes polled and won one seat in the Lok Sabha election, to retain its ‘state party’ status.
In 2011, the DMDK won 29 seats with a vote share of 7.88%. Since then, its vote share has been plummeting, and none of its candidates were able to win in any election held after the 2011 Assembly election.
Also read: DMDK pulls out of AIADMK alliance over seat-sharing
Despite all this, the party continues to be a recognised state party, and the ‘Murasu’ (a kind of drum) symbol is reserved for it. Last Monday, it was invited by the Election Commission to participate in a meeting as a recognised state party. Tamil Nadu as of now has three state parties – the DMK, AIADMK and DMDK.
In 2011, when it had an alliance with the AIADMK, the DMDK was able to corner 29 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Since then it has not won a single seat in either the TN Assembly or the Lok Sabha. The Election Commission (EC) is supposed to review the performance of a party and decide on continuing with or withdrawing its recognition after two elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly. By this, the DMDK must have lost its state party status, which it hasn’t till date.
In the past, the PMK and MDMK were state parties along with the DMK and AIADMK but both they lost the status following poll debacles. The PMK got its state party status in 2006 after winning a record 18 seats in the Assembly, only to lose it in 2016 after it failed to win a single seat in 2009 Lok Sabha and 2016 Assembly polls.
Also read: DMDK leader Sudhish posts an old Karunanidhi cartoon, irks DMK
Similarly, the MDMK became a state party after winning four seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections but lost the status in 2010.
In comparison, the DMDK has been given a long rope. It is high time the EC took steps to withdraw state party status for the DMDK, whose vote share in the 2021 Assembly election went below 1% and all its candidates lost deposits.
