Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister Jayakumar, on Tuesday, said that no one is pressurising AIADMK, and that BJP doesn’t interfere in the internal matters of the party. Underlining the statement, Jayakumar rubbished the possibility of a merger between AIADMK and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). 

Talking to media persons, Jayakumar said, “BJP has never interfered in the internal matters of the party. There are speculations that BJP is putting pressure on us, but it’s not true. As the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said in Delhi, AMMK’s TV Dhinakaran or Sasikala cannot join the party and there is no chance of a  merger.”

He also added, “AMMK is a pack of jackals and ADMK is a pride of lions. So TTV Dhinakaran’s speeches will be taken in a funny way by the people. The merger was also not discussed with Home Minister Amit Shah as the media is speculating.”

He further said, “They (BJP) know that if they interfere, it will not be democratic. So, they have not interfered, and our party has several functionaries and we have already made our decisions.”

Accordingly, the last day to file applications with AIADMK for contesting in various constituencies ends on Tuesday.

Earlier, there were speculations that Home Minister Amit Shah discussed a merger between AIADMK and AMMK with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam in a closed-door meeting in Chennai.

On Tuesday, AMMK founder, TTV Dhinakaran after meeting former AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala at her residence in T Nagar said that AMMK is holding talks with several parties and that they will reveal details about an alliance once the talks are over.  When asked about an alliance with AIADMK and BJP, Dhinakaran said, “We will accept anyone who accepts our leadership.”