A day before being sworn in as Member of the Legislative Assembly for RK Nagar, TTV Dhinakaran proceeded to Bengaluru to meet his aunt and ousted AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala. Dhinakaran will meet her at the Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru and seek her blessings a day before being sworn in as MLA representing RK Nagar.
His meeting with Sasikala also comes days after Dhinakaran warned that the ruling government led by Edappadi Paalaniswaami would fall in three months. Speculation is rife that the two may strategise on how to ensure MLAs defect from the ruling camp, which has a razor thin majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Presently, Dhinakaran enjoys the support of 18 MLAs, who were disqualified by the Speaker in September on the grounds of defection.
Meanwhile, the state Assembly will convene for the first time in 2018 on January 8, with Governor Banwarilal Purohit summoning the session.
Following Dhinakaran’s electoral victory, the AIADMK expelled five of his supporters from the party, while relieving four others of their posts.
Dhinakaran contested as an independent candidate at the RK Nagar bye-elections on December 21 and won with a huge margin of over 40,000 votes, shocking the two erstwhile Dravidian parties in the state. The RK Nagar bye-polls took place as a result of the death of former Chief Minister and RK Nagar MLA J Jayalalithaa.
The first elections, announced for April were cancelled due to widespread allegations of corruption. The second, which took place in December, elected TTV Dhinakaran to the seat while embarrassingly defeating the ruling AIADMK and the DMK, which lost its deposit.
Given this turn of fortunes in favour of TTV Dhinakaran, the political class in the state has congratulated Dhinakaran. Thol Thirumavalavan, leader of the VCK has even called Dhinakaran Jayalalithaa’s political heir. Rajya Sabha MP and ousted AIADMK Sasikala Pushpa has met and congratulated Dhinakaran.