His address, according to people in Mannargudi, was once known as ‘care of platform’, but Dhivaharan is now the ‘Boss’ of the town which is home to the Sasikala family. And the Boss has now emerged as the force consolidating power for the Mannargudi group in the AIADMK.
Two sources, one in Chennai and one in Mannargudi, have independently confirmed to The News Minute that Dr V Dhivaharan, brother to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala, is now a key political operator in AIADMK.
Dhivaharan was already a person of importance, especially in the Cauvery-delta region, which includes Thanjavur and its surrounding districts. So much so, that candidates for 2016 assembly polls in Mannargudi and Kumbakonam were replaced at his behest. One of them was AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa's choice.
Sources say that Dhivaharan now holds the party together, being the force who is in touch with the MLAs. He has been speaking to the MLAs, seeking their support for the new government, if the need may arise.
Earlier on Monday, The News Minute reported that AIADMK MLAs have agreed to endorse O Panneerselvam as the next CM. Sources point out that Dhivaharan is carrying out orders of Sasikala.
The Sasikala family is not alien to "observations" that they're trying to control the reins of the government. Though Dhivaharan's power was for a long time restricted to the town Mannargudi, it no longer remains so. After Sasikala was removed from the party in 2011, he maintained a low-profile. But his influence has since grown.
Dhivaharan is close to his sister Sasikala more than ever, even more than Sasikala's husband Natarajan according to some, who had in the 70s put Sasikala in touch with Jayalalithaa and later vanished into the oblivion.
Dhivaharan's college
Dhivaharan now owns an all-girls Sengamla Thayaar Educational Trust Women’s College in Mannargudi, for which he has gained much good name.
A Mannargudi-based businessman once told The News Minute earlier, “Dhivaharan runs the college which is the best and safest for girls here, and he does not overcharge. Everyone is making money, so they also do. But they are also good to others."