T T V Dhinakaran upset with BJP; gives time till December to set things right

Chennai: After O Panneerselvam, it seems Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief T T V Dhinakaran is also upset with the BJP for ignoring him to keep AIADMK and its chief Edappadi K Palaniswami in good humour.

Dhinakaran, whose AMMK joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2024 under then BJP state chief K Annamalai, has now announced that he will decide whether to continue travelling with the saffron party for the 2026 elections in December this year.

Until last week, Dhinakaran asserted that he was part of the NDA and it was the AIADMK which joined the combine late and even advocated for relaunching negotiations with OPS who quit the alliance in July.

Palaniswami’s insistence that Dhinakaran and OPS should not be part of the AIADMK-led alliance is the reason behind the BJP maintaining a distance from both. Before consolidating his position in the AIADMK, Palaniswami had reported to both OPS and Dhinakaran as Chief Minister and deputy general secretary of the party. However, he expelled both from the AIADMK.

Sources told DH that Dhinakaran is disappointed with the BJP for not convincing Palaniswami about the need to strengthen the alliance by including parties like the AMMK and OPS to put up a united front against the formidable DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). The sources also alleged that new TN BJP chief Nainar Nagenthiran seems to believe that AIADMK alone is sufficient and there is no need to include smaller parties in the NDA.

If the BJP leadership doesn’t sort out the issues and make a categorical announcement that AMMK is part of the NDA by December, Dhinakaran might explore other options. However, sources said, he is hopeful that the saffron party will realise the need for his support and that of OPS to win seats in Southern Tamil Nadu, especially in constituencies dominated by Mukulathors, an OBC community, to which belong.

“If the BJP believes AIADMK is more important than smaller allies like us who stood by the saffron party, so be it. The BJP should convince EPS. First, they insulted OPS and now trying to insult TTV. If they continue to say No to everyone with whom EPS has an issue, how will we defeat the DMK,” a source in AMMK asked.

The source added that both the AIADMK and BJP should not think that AMMK will continue to fathom insults and will not explore other options. “If we don’t have a place in the NDA, we might have to knock at Vijay’s doors which seems to be open for allies. Since Amit Shah handles TN directly, we hope he steps in and set the house in order,” another AMMK source said.

Another BJP ally told DH that it looks very obvious that TTV is feeling sidelined and he needs to be cajoled. “It is a matter between AIADMK and BJP. They have to sort out the issue and ensure OPS and TTV remain in the NDA. They have the backing of the Mukulathors,” he added.

The leader further added that in the event of TTV and OPS not being part of the NDA, it will further alienate the Mukulathors from the AIADMK and the alliance. While it is still premature and a mere speculation, TTV and OPS joining Vijay might strengthen the actor’s position further in the 2026 elections.