Warring AIADMK factions close to truce, eye merger
Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK faction sacked on Thursday its deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran, accelerating a possible merger of the party’s two warring groups.
Chief minister Edappadi Palanisami declared as “improper, unacceptable and invalid” the appointment of Dinakaran to the post by his aunt, jailed party chief VK Sasikala, who was convicted of corruption in February.
Dinakaran and his supporters refused to accept the decision, which was taken at an hour-long meeting between Palanisami, about 30 ministers and senior leaders at the party office.
He warned the chief minister, who was handpicked by Sasikala, of “surgical action” and said the revolt won’t stand because the ruling group had endorsed her as party chief in an affidavit to the Election Commission.
“No one has the right to remove or expel me. Only Sasikala has the power,” he said in Thanjavur.
And in an oblique reference to the BJP, he said: “They are scared because of some outside forces.”
According to sources, the BJP is nudging the two factions to merge and join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govern- ment at the Centre.
The BJP has been wooing the AIADMK for long because of its 50 parliamentarians — 37 in the Lok Sabha and 13 in the Rajya Sabha. The party is also seeking to expand its footprint in the state, where it has negligible presence.
Besides, the infighting in the AIADMK since the death of party supremo J Jayalalithaa last December has created a political vacuum in the state.
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