This poll season, Tamil Nadu votes will decide not just its parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha but also as many as 22 MLAs in its state assembly. While the Dravidian majors have allied with the two major national parties, for RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran, it is a lone battle for survival. The bye-polls to 18 out of 22 constituencies were necessitated by those MLAs supporting him in the trilateral feud between the Mannargudi family, now Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and current Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
In an interview with The News Minute, the AMMK leader who is completing the last leg of campaigning in Chennai rules out allying with the DMK and the AIADMK, even in a post-poll scenario. The poll season has been particularly vicious for the leader with the DMK accusing him of being the BJP’s B team and AIADMK alleging that Dhinakaran is the DMK’s B team.
“They are both speaking out of fear. AMMK will win in the same way we won in RK Nagar. Even though AIADMK is in the BJP alliance, Stalin is their true B team. Even if the AIADMK's politics is against Stalin, Stalin supported the Chennai-Salem eight-lane expressway when it was introduced by CM Palaniswami. At the cooperative elections, they had a 60-40 arrangement. AIADMK gives contract works to DMK MLAs. They have an underground alliance.” alleges Dhinakaran, sitting in his campaign vehicle, reminiscent of the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s.
“I used to travel with Amma. I was a candidate in the elections and became an MP as well. I was in-charge of the polls in Andipatti constituency. She has trained me. I miss the fact that Amma is not there and that my aunt is in Bengaluru (VK Sasikala, close aide of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is serving prison time for her involvement in the Disproportionate Assets case).” Dhinakaran recounts, waving to cadre greeting him with the title ‘Makkal Selvan’ or ‘people’s treasured one.’
So how is campaign season for his first Lok Sabha polls without the two women who were at the helm of affairs? “What I have learnt from them is naturally there. This is a field where I have 30 years of experience. It's all going smooth.” he says, exuding confidence.
Many in Dhinakaran’s party have alleged that there is a concerted campaign to not provide their leader air time on Tamil television channels. But his message, he says, has been heard by the people. Reiterating the position that true AIADMK supporters will vote for AMMK, he says, "95 percent of true AIADMK supporters are already in the AMMK. The remaining five percent who are still in the AIADMK thinking it is Amma's government and for the sake of the two leaves symbol are disillusioned with their alliance partners. So they too will vote for us." he asserts. Slamming the AIADMK’s alliace partners for Lok Sabha 2019, Dhinakaran refers to the PMK's opposition to build a memorial for late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at the Marina, the DMDK's opposition to hang a portrait of Jayalalithaa in the state assembly and the BJP, whom Jayalalithaa directly opposed in the 2014 General Elections.
When asked if he would end up splitting both DMK and AIADMK votes this time around, Dhinakaran shoots back, “Did votes get split in RK Nagar? We will be the winners. The contest is for second place.” In the December 2017 RK Nagar bye-polls, Dhinakaran emerged victorious by a margin of over 40,000 votes. In an embarrassing loss, the DMK lost its deposit while the AIADMK finished second.
On Stalin's confidence that the DMK would form the government once all 22 pending bye-elections are conducted, Dhinakaran says that Stalin may only win a couple of seats that the AMMK fails to secure. When pressed on if MLAs supporting Dhinakaran would be open to a post poll alliance, Dhinakaran understandably takes a moment to gather his thoughts and bust the theory doing the rounds among political circles.
"The sentiment against the DMK is in our blood. They are simply saying these things. We can neither ally with the DMK nor the traitors (Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK). Just like 1972, when Puratchi Thalaivar started the party, our cadres have created a movement. AMMK will come to power in Tamil Nadu as a great force.” he states.
When asked about how important the poll season is for the survival of his year-old party, a defensive Dhinakaran says that the ones fighting for survival are the DMK and the AIADMK. "We will win by a big margin. DMK and AIADMK are the ones fighting for second place. So they are the ones fighting to survive.” he signs off.