What's next for VK Sasikala, TTV Dhinakaran and OPS?

Palaniswami is focusing his time on strengthening the party while ruling out any chance of coexisting with OPS

As Edappadi K Palaniswami looks to consolidate his hold further in the AIADMK after being appointed as the interim general secretary, the other claimants for the party and J Jayalalithaa’s legacy – VK Sasikala, O Panneerselvam, and TTV Dhinakaran, are upping the ante.

Sasikala, Panneerselvam, and Dhinakaran, for now, have taken “separate routes” but their goal is one – to take over the AIADMK. The developments in the past few days – Sasikala meeting ‘Panruti’ S Ramachandran, a close confidante of party founder M G Ramachandran, on Sunday and OPS’ close aide Syed Khan “welcoming” Dhinakaran during the latter’s visit to Theni – have set off speculation of realignment of equations.

However, Sasikala, who was released from Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru in January 2021, has not been able to make any headway in her efforts to take over the AIADMK. While Dhinakaran is trying to “galvanize” cadres of his AMMK, Panneerselvam, expelled from the party by the General Council, is yet to reveal his cards.

Notwithstanding the “opposition” from the claimants, Palaniswami is focussing his time on “strengthening” the party while ruling out any chance of coexisting with OPS.

“The general council unanimously appointed EPS as the interim general secretary and expelled OPS from the party's primary membership. The majority opinion of the party, we hope, will be respected by all and we are sure EPS will be elected as the leader when elections are held soon. Sasikala, OPS, and TTV are not even primary members of the AIADMK and there is no point in talking about them,” a senior AIADMK leader told DH.

This raises the question: What happens to Sasikala, OPS and TTV? Though OPS rebelled against Sasikala in 2017 after J Jayalalithaa’s death, leading to a split in the AIADMK, the former chief minister has been vocal about his willingness to work with the long-time aide of Jayalalithaa.

However, OPS and Sasikala have not made a joint public appearance after the 2017 Marina Rebellion, though they are believed to have met privately. OPS’ supporters, including sacked Theni district secretary Syed Khan, meeting TTV and posing for pictures on the Madurai-Theni highway could well be the beginning of the trio coming together.

Sources told DH that OPS has no choice but to touch base with Sasikala to sustain his fight against EPS. “It is a fact that none of them – Sasikala, OPS, and TTV – have a visible support base in the AIADMK. Many believe their base will become visible, at least in southern districts where Mukulathors, the caste to which they belong, are huge in number, if all three come together, the sources added.

“OPS has no space in the AIADMK helmed by EPS. So, he has to find an alternative and I believe a realignment is on the cards. OPS may join with Sasikala because both are singing the same tune. Both Sasikala and OPS have so far failed to garner support from cadres or leaders. For now, EPS has the majority support of the party,” senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh told DH. “But the trump card is with the BJP,” Singh added.