TTV DHINAKARAN WINS BYPOLL ON SEAT LEFT VACANT BY JAYALALITHAA
Dhinakaran’s win can trigger fresh infighting in AIADMK and pose newer problems for the EPSOPS combine
CHENNAI: Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran spelt embarrassment for Tamil Nadu CM Edapaddi Palaniswami’s camp Sunday, winning a byelection to Chennai’s RK Nagar assembly constituency with a margin more than what J Jayalalithaa secured on her way to win the seat.
CHENNAI: Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran’s victory in a by-election to Chennai’s RK Nagar assembly constituency is bad news for the ruling party as well as the opposition DMK, political analysts said Sunday.
The comprehensive win not only gives a much-needed boost to Dhinakaran, who not long ago appeared a casualty of AIADMK’s faction feud, but also poses tough questions before CM E Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam.
As trends indicated Dhinakaran was headed for a big win, he declared that the state government will collapse within three months. Dhinakaran, nephew of J Jayalalithaa aide Sasikala, also asserted that the government was in a minority since 18 MLAs loyal to him had withdrawn support to the EPS-OPS camp.
And in the confident assertion of Dhinakaran lies the importance of his win. In the short term, his win may trigger a fresh round of infighting within the AIADMK that has seen its share of bouts and nail-biting political drama in the aftermath of charismatic CM Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016. In the long run, Dhinakaran has emerged as an important political player in Tamil Nadu who will have a larger role in the general elections.
“Anna (read Dhinakaran) will become the CM,” his supporters said in a chorus at a victory celebration at his Adyar residence.
Some BJP leaders have already reached out to Dhinakaran to congratulate him, sources said. A few MLAs from the EPSOPS side, too, have begun contacting him.
Also, the victory in Jayalalithaa’s bastion will have a direct impact on the state government once Dhinakaran enters the assembly and launches his assault on the government and its MLAs. “It is definitely bad news for the AIADMK (EPS-OPS) ruling camp, but it is even worse news for the DMK...,” said Professor Ramu Manivannan of the Madras University.
For the DMK, which is positioning itself as the next ruling party, the outcome was shocking as it had to lose its deposit. The BJP was never in the contest and polled fewer votes than NOTA (none of the above). The saffron party secured 1,417 votes as compared to the NOTA figure of 2,373.
Dhinakaran’s vote share was 50.32% as compared to AIADMK’s 27.31%. The DMK’s share was 13.94%, a sharp fall in comparison with its performance in the 2016 state elections.
The ruling AIADMK alleged there was a ‘tacit understanding’ between Dhinakaran and DMK to defeat it, a charge that was rejected by DMK working president MK Stalin. Political analyst Sumanth C Raman wondered if DMK had “transferred its votes”, but a party spokesperson differed. DMK’s TKS Elangovan said, “We do not contest elections to lose and make someone else win. We will introspect to find out the reasons for the loss and make corrections for future.”
Prof Manivannan said Karunanidhi’s DMK “must rethink their strategy”, adding that voters’ message to political parties is their violent anger can make a hero out of a nobody. “Had the DMK not contested the seat, it would have been fine. But trailing in third position with huge margin is certainly not something that the DMK leadership would be very happy with,” he said.
Tamilisai Soundararajan, BJP’s state unit chief, said “money power has won”. “Since the beginning we have been saying money is being distributed… Tell me what Dhinakaran has done to deserve this kind of victory?” she asked.
The DMK, too, charged the EPS-OPS and Dhinakaran camps with pumping in money to win the by-election.
DHINAKARAN’S VICTORY WILL HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE STATE GOVERNMENT ONCE HE ENTERS THE ASSEMBLY AND LAUNCHES HIS ASSAULT ON THE GOVERNMENT AND MLAS