IUML to decide on DMK ties on June 20; EPS CM talk came as a shock: Mohideen

Chennai: National president of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), K M Kader Mohideen said the party’s general council would meet on June 20 to decide whether it should continue in the DMK alliance.“After the election results, a view was put forward that the DMK could support Edappadi K Palaniswami for the chief minister’s post. That came as a shock to us and was one of the reasons for the delay in our decision to extend support,” Mohideen told reporters on Saturday.He said the proposal came as a surprise to the party. “If Vijay had said he was unable to form the government, then alternatives could have been discussed. But such discussions came even before that,” he said.Mohideen also referred to discussions involving VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan. “When I asked how Thirumavalavan could become chief minister when he was not an MLA, I was told he could enter the assembly within six months,” he said.He said it was not easy for the IUML to move away from the DMK because of a relationship that stretched from the days of C N Annadurai through M Karunanidhi and M K Stalin. The remarks marked a shift from his stand earlier this month when he had publicly maintained that the IUML would remain in the DMK-led alliance and described the relationship as an ideological partnership beyond elections. Notably, his party was offered a ministerial berth by TVK.Mohideen further claimed that IUML workers had sensed a shift in voter mood during campaigning in Kolathur constituency, where DMK president MK Stalin lost, and had alerted the DMK leadership.“Our women’s wing went door-to-door and told me there was a trend developing. They said women were speaking differently and questioned whether the votes would come as expected for the DMK. We conveyed this to the DMK leadership,” he said.He said he did not know what action, if any, was taken thereafter.