Farmers Movement Archive

Dhinakaran banks on Sasikala to regain key role in AIADMK

V K Sasikala’s renewed political journey has in effect given TTV Dhinakaran another shot to play a role as the future of the political party in Tamil Nadu, but experts said if the AMMK founder continues to hope that he and his aunt can reclaim the AIADMK, his political performance would dwindle further. “There is no doubt that Sasikala rehabilitated him and made him number one in command in the AIADMK before she went to prison, but much water has flown under the bridge since then,” said political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy. “The 2.5% that AMMK got in 2021 is in favour of Dhinakaran’s character, his way of giving interviews. With that, he and Sasikala are aiming to reclaim the AIADMK, which has a 33% vote share. It is better if Dhinakaran keeps to himself and aligns with the UPA or NDA alliance in the 2024 elections. His vote share can convert into seats. Sasikala will only pull him down.” Dhinakaran’s place in Tamil Nadu politics was once touted to be the future of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), when he succeeded late J Jayalalithaa as the MLA of R K Nagar Assembly constituency in Chennai in 2017, at the height of his rebellion against the current leadership. Since then, he faced successive defeats and remained anonymous. His political future is inadvertently tied to the destiny of Sasikala, an all-powerful woman behind the scene when Jayalalithaa was alive – a position she lost after being imprisoned in 2017, and she, too, is picking up the pieces now. His lieutenants left him to join the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), his aunt, Sasikala abandoned him and their political quest before the assembly elections held this April. Dhinakaran had floated the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) with Sasikala’s supporters after the AIADMK had expelled both. It is perhaps the only party formed to reclaim the AIADMK. The AIADMK, after stonewalling Sasikala, has been divided in their opinion of her in recent months, given that the party lost three elections since Jayalalithaa’s death--2019 parliamentary polls, 2021 assembly polls and the rural body polls in October this year. On Sunday, Sasikala distributed relief materials to those affected by the rains in Chennai and alongside her was AMMK spokesperson C R Saraswathi. “AMMK cadre are all AIADMK cadre isn’t it?” said a leader of the AMMK, who did not wish to be identified. “We aim to merge with the AIADMK, and we are working towards that.” Sasikala continues to refer to herself as the AIADMK’s general secretary and has been releasing statements on current developments such as the northeast monsoon related floods, the repeal of the farm laws. “In other districts, homes have collapsed, people are suffering, so it raises a question if the government is doing enough,” she told reporters on Sunday. “The government has to safeguard people. In Chennai, people are suffering in huts. Relief has to be provided to them immediately.” Dhinakaran’s rise In 2017, Sasikala brought back Dhinakaran into the AIADMK and elevated him as deputy general secretary after Jayalalithaa had removed him in 2010. After Sasikala took over the AIADMK as its interim general secretary, and while facing a rebellion from O Panneerselvam before she could occupy the chief minister chair, the Supreme Court convicted Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case to a four-year jail term in Bengaluru. Following that, Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami expelled both Sasikala and Dhinakaran. Dhinakaran then contested as an independent candidate from Dr Radhakrishnan (RK) Nagar assembly constituency in Chennai, which fell vacant after late J Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016. He won the RK Nagar by-poll surpassing Jayalalithaa’s margin in 2016, which shook state politics. He also created history on two accounts – being the first independent candidate to win an assembly by-poll and the election here was rescinded twice by the election commission on charges of cash being distributed to voters. Dhinakaran’s victory pushed the AIADMK to the second spot, and the DMK nominee lost his deposit. Previously, it was back in 1999 when Dhinakaran won the Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituency from the south district of Theni. Following his win in RK Nagar, Dhinakaran stood as a lone challenger to the Dravidian majors. Analysts had then said that he could even pull off a successful third front in Tamil Nadu’s politics, which has been successively ruled by the DMK and AIADMK since 1967. His cool and ever-smiling demeanour while fielding questions from the press had earned him an aura that nothing could startle him. But he could not recreate his magic. The fall In 2018, he floated the AMMK with a breakaway faction of Sasikala’s supporters, including 18 disqualified MLAs. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, AMMK did not win any seats but registered a 5% vote share, eating into the vote base of the AIADMK. In the assembly elections held in April, too, the AMMK drew a blank and registered a vote share of 2.35%. Dhinakaran was banking on Sasikala to boost his party’s prospects. His hope that her release from prison, earlier this year in January, would shake up the AIADMK did not happen. This disappointed Sasikala, too, when the AIADMK stayed tight and no senior leader, including those appointed by Sasikala when Jayalalithaa was alive, approached her. In March, Sasikala decided to step away from politics. On the day she announced her decision, Dhinkaran visited her home in Chennai and came out dejected and told the media that he could not convince her. Dhinakaran soldiered alone tying up with smaller parties such as the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of Popular Front of India, actor-politician Vijayakanth’s DMDK and Hyderabad-based Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Dhinakaran shifted his constituency from Chennai to Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi, but he lost. However, the AMMK did play a spoiler for the AIADMK in at least 20 assembly seats where the Dhinakaran and Sasikala’s community – Mukkalathor have strong support. “Dhinakaran did not take care of RK Nagar after his victory. So people did not want to give him another chance,” said a political observer who did not wish to be named. Before the April elections, a former AIADMK MLA, SG Subramanian, among 18 disqualified legislators for supporting Dhinakaran, was re-inducted into the AIADMK. Earlier, V Senthil Balaji and Thanga Tamilselvan quit AMMK and joined the DMK. Balaji is now the electricity minister of Tamil Nadu in the ruling DMK government. However, the party has had new energy recently since Dhinakaran supported Panneerselvam’s statement that the AIADMK would discuss inducting Sasikala. AIADMK has been speaking in different voices since then, with Palaniswami saying there is no chance of having her back. AMMK also held a two-day meeting in Chennai to prepare for the ensuing urban local body polls at the start of November.

Hindustan Times

22-11-2021

India