Saturday, March 4 2006 13:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: After joining the AIADMK front, MDMK will be facing assembly polls in alliance with a major political party in Tamil Nadu for the first time in its 13 years of existence.

The party, floated by Vaiko soon after his suspension from DMK in 1993 following his differences with M Karunanidhi on Sri Lankan Tamils' issue, fought the 1998 assembly polls in alliance with the CPI(M) but the party drew a blank. Vaiko,had then unsucessfully contested from two seats.

During 1998 Lok Sabha polls, MDMK was part of a grand alliance floated by AIADMK in which BJP and PMK were partners. Vaiko came out of the grouping when AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa decided to withdraw her party's support to the A B Vajpayee ministry.

Later MDMK, an offshoot of the DMK, aligned with the Karunanidhi-led party for contesting 1999 Lok Sabha polls.

However, the alliance was shortlived as the MDMK left the front ahead of the 2001 assembly polls over non-allocation of two seats wanted by it. The party then went on its own.

When Vaiko was detained under POTA for 19 months by the current AIADMK regime, Karunanidhi called on him at Vellore Prison and requested him to come out on bail.

During 2004 Lok Sabha polls, MDMK faced the elections along with DMK, Congress, PMK and the Left parties. MDMK won all the four seats alloted to it. However the party decided to keep out of the Manmohan Singh Ministry and extend outside support to it.

At a marathon meeting of district secretaries of the party, MDMK rejected DMK's offer of 22 seats and decided to go along with the ruling AIADMK for the May 8 polls.