Dhinakaran finalises alliance with AIMIM for Tamil Nadu polls

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM bagged three seats for the upcoming polls

Notwithstanding the appeal from his aunt V K Sasikala asking “true loyalists” of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to work together to bring back “Amma's rule”, AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran on Monday announced that his party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), will contest the April 6 assembly polls.

Dhinakaran also sealed an alliance with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which claims to wield considerable influence in some pockets, bagging three seats. As per the agreement signed, AIMIM will contest in Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri, and Sankarapuram constituencies in an alliance with AMMK.

Speaking to reporters at the AMMK headquarters on Monday, Dhinakaran said his party-led alliance will contest all 234 constituencies in the state, promising to install “Amma's government” in Tamil Nadu. It was speculated that Dhinakaran would join the AIADMK alliance but Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami stoutly opposed the proposal moved before him by the BJP.

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Dismissing as “rumours” that many of his supporters have been promised tickets by AIADMK if they jump the ship, Dhinakaran said he will contest the assembly elections from two constituencies, without giving away the names. He is currently an MLA from R K Nagar, the constituency which was represented twice by Jayalalithaa.

“The real 'dharma yutham' begins now. AMMK was established to retrieve the AIADMK and to establish the real rule of Amma (Jayalalithaa) in Tamil Nadu. We will contest all the seats,” Dhinakaran said. However, he refused to give a direct answer about Sasikala's statement about Jayalalithaa's “true loyalists”.

Sasikala had on March 3 surprised everyone by deciding to “step aside” from politics, dealing a blow to Dhinakaran and handing out a moral victory, albeit for now, to Palaniswami.

AMMK, which was brought into AIADMK by Sasikala hours before she left for Bengaluru to surrender before authorities at the Parappana Agrahara prison in February 2017, scored 5.25 per cent of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

After the defeat, Dhinakaran went underground, hardly addressing any public meeting in the past year. Other parties like DMK, AIADMK, and MNM have already launched their election campaign.