Days after the AIADMK's drubbing in the recently concluded urban local body polls in Tamil Nadu, the chorus to reinduct expelled party General Secretary VK Sasikala and her nephew and AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran into the party fold has begun once again. This time, a resolution to this effect was passed and handed over to AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam (OPS) by functionaries during an informal party meeting he chaired at his native village in Theni district on Wednesday, March 2.
Things have drastically changed in the last few months for OPS – the man who led the ‘dharma yuddham’ to oust Sasikala from the party a few years ago. Sources within the AIADMK told TNM that the former Deputy Chief Minister is not opposed to the idea of taking Sasikala back in the party. Over the last few months, he has softened his approach towards Sasikala.
Even though OPS is the AIADMK coordinator, it is an open secret that Edappadi K Palanisami (EPS) enjoys more support among the party leaders and functionaries. Finding himself increasingly cornered, OPS has been waiting for an opportunity to assert his authority. The OPS camp, backed by Thevars, believes that the return of Sasikala – who is also from the same community – will strengthen his position and balance the caste equation in the party. AIADMK leaders from the Gounder community, which EPS belongs to, have been gaining more prominence in the party of late.
In an attempt to gain support from the Gounder community to re-induct Sasikala, OPS’s team has begun reaching out to leaders in the western region of the state. Senior leaders like Sengottaiyan and Thambidurai have been approached for a favourable decision, said an AIADMK leader on the condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, AIADMK’s Joint Coordinator EPS is holding a closed-door meeting with functionaries in Salem to gauge the mood of party workers and decide upon the next course of action. EPS, who has been vehemently opposing Sasikala, is banking on the support from other AIADMK MLAs to keep her away from the party.
OPS’s Wednesday meeting, called to discuss the party’s poor performance in the local body polls, turned into a demand to unite the AIADMK and reinduct all those who were expelled.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, AIADMK Theni district secretary Syed Khan said, “We have handed over the resolution to OPS and he said he will look into our demands. Such meetings will be held across the state. Our main demand is that we should unite. Those who have left the party should all unite. For you, the known faces are Chinnamma (VK Sasikala) and TTV Dhinakaran. But there are many other people.”
Echoing similar views, VC Arukutty, former AIADMK MLA from Coimbatore district, said the dual leadership model of the party has failed and that the AIADMK high command needs to do course correction before it's too late. “The rout of the AIADMK in the urban local body polls has demoralised the party workers and they are not satisfied with the dual leadership model. There should be a single leader for the party and VK Sasikala has been with Amma for a long time. She knows how to take care of the party,” he told TNM.
Speaking about the developments, AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said the resolution adopted by party functionaries in Theni has no validity as it was an informal meet. “It is only noise. It won’t have an impact. AIADMK has faced many defeats and we have made a comeback too. Local body election results are not a benchmark. There is no question of including Sasikala and Dhinakaran in the party. The matter has been sorted out long back.”
Even as AIADMK leaders are in a huddle to discuss the sudden development, sources close to Sasikala say that she is taking a wait-and-watch approach. Similarly, while responding to questions from the media in Chennai, Dhinakaran said he can consult with his party cadres about a merger only once there is clarity over the overall opinion of the AIADMK on the matter.
Significantly, the political churn in the AIADMK comes at a time when Sasikala is planning a trip to southern Tamil Nadu, a region where she enjoys much support among party workers. She is expected to meet AIADMK workers from Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts on Friday, March 4.
Sasikala has been making appeals for a united AIADMK ever since her release from the Bengaluru Central Prison in January 2021 after serving her jail term in a disproportionate assets case. Commenting on AIADMK’s poor performance in the recent local body polls, she remarked that the party has never faced such successive setbacks in its nearly 50-year history. “At least at this juncture everyone should ponder. For the benefit of the movement, if we all work together the party will certainly emerge stronger,” she said.