Since TTV Dhinakaran won the seat of Late Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa from RK Nagar, AIADMK has been on a spree of sacking its MLAs for supporting the Dhinakaran faction and bringing disrepute to the party. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after facing defeat in the RK Nagar bypolls removed four loyalists of TTV Dinakaran and expelled five, from the party on Monday.
The sacking did not just stop at 9 MLAs, on 29 Dec the party expelled as many as 130 functionaries of the rebel Dhinakaran camp from bringing disrepute to AIADMK. The AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and party co-coordinator and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswamy on Friday announced “removing” 132 persons from the party’s district units of Tirupur, Pudukottai and Dharmapuri. Among the three assemblies, Tripura topped the list with, 65 MLAs expelled.
The two leaders in a joint statement said that 49 persons from Pudukottai and 18 from Dharmapuri units were also being removed as they went against the party’s principles and brought “disrepute” to the AIADMK. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in his statement said that “Party workers are requested not to have any truck with them.” While 132 MLAs were expelled, both the leaders relieved one person from his party post in Dharmapuri.
The party leaders had issued a warning that the party will take strict actions against all those who betrayed the party by supporting the rebel Dhinakaran. AIADMK after the merger of the EPS and the OPS faction had officially expelled TT Dhinakaran and close aide of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, VK Sasikala from the party. The OPS faction had kept the demand that they will agree to the merger only if these two members are expelled from the party and probe be called for the death of Jayalalithaa.
Since the merger, the party has been facing a lot of problems amongst the members and after the expulsion of Dhinakaran, many party members quit from the party to support Dhinakaran. Following this turn of events, the Dhinakaran faction and the opposition party DMK had also questioned the majority of AIADMK in the assembly and called for a floor test.
Dhinakaran secured an emphatic win in the RK Nagar by polls, the seat which was vacated after the demise of Jayalalithaa. He contested the elections as an independent candidate and defeated E Madhusudhanan by a thumping margin of over 40,000 votes, giving a major jolt to the ruling AIADMK.
The victory of Dhinakaran and the 2G scam verdict, which has acquitted all the 17 accused has strengthened the position of the opposition DMK, who was suffering a political exile in the state. In a situation where the rebel Dhinakaran is gaining popularity and DMK strengthening its foothold again, it is getting difficult for the ruling AIADMK to remain in power. The floor test demanded by Dhinakaran and DMK was postponed in wake of the already pending cases in the Madras high court.
In the prevailing condition of the Tamil Nadu political equations, eyebrows are being raised whether the ruling AIADMK will be able to complete its term.