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TTV Dhinakaran: 'Only me or Sasikala deserve to be Tamil Nadu CM'

  • Ostracized AIADMK deputy secretary TTV Dhinakaran says that he or Sasikala could have become Tamil Nadu's Chief minister after Jayalalithaa's death
  • “I did not desire to become CM. AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala chose O Paneerselvam to continue the AIADMK rule," said Dhinakaran
  • Dhinakaran said the Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam camps had come together with selfish interests to oppose Sasikala
Couldve been Tamil Nadus CM after Jayalalithaas death says TTV Dhinakaran

AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran said that he could have become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after the death of Jayalalithaa.

The ostracized party member said that everyone in the party wanted either himself or the AIADMK general secretary Sasikala wanted to become the next CM. But now the party has turned against them.

“I did not desire to become CM. AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala chose O Paneerselvam to continue the AIADMK rule," he told reporters at Avanashi in Tirupur district.

Stating that Chief Minister K Palaniswamy had sought votes for him in the run up to the R K Nagar bypoll, Dhinakaran said the Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam camps had come together with selfish interests to oppose Sasikala.

After the merger of the rival factions on August 21, the party said that steps would be taken to expel her. Panneerselvam was also made the deputy chief minister. Sasikala, Dhinakaran's aunt, is serving a prison term at a Bengaluru jail following her conviction in a disproportionate assets case. Dhinakaran had termed the merger as a "betrayal" of Sasikala.

The Dhinakaran camp hit back on August 22, with 19 MLAs loyal to him meeting the governor and saying they no longer had confidence in Chief Minister K Palaniswami, prompting the opposition DMK to demand a trust vote.

Dhinakaran is hopefull that Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao will take a fair decision after 19 MLAs withdrew their support from Chief Minister E Palaniswami. “The MLAs hope that the Governor will agree to their legitimate demands. The MLAs are not motivated by money. They are with me because I am with truth and dharma. Those who seek the removal of the general secretary should be taught a lesson. Only the general secretary can guide the party,” he said.

The MLAs backing Dhinakaran later left to a resort in Puducherry. “The 19 MLAs at the resort in Puducherry are not there because of threats against them. It is only because they have adopted a sacrificial attitude to protect this party by being there, that you have all come here to ask questions about it. Not just Tamil Nadu, but the entire country is carefully observing these developments,” Dhinakaran said.

On August 23, Dhinakaran sought to assert his authority, axing four ministers from party posts while the MLAs loyal to him stayed put in the resort. He also appointed a number of his supporters to various other posts, besides expanding the office-bearers list.

To this, Palaniswami said at a government function at Ariyalur on August 23, where he shared the dais with Panneerselvam, that unity was the need of the hour to take the party and AIADMK government forward. The Dhinakaran camp received a shot in the arm on August 25 when AIADMK MLA from Vriddhachalam, T Kalaiselvan, met and extended support to him, taking the number of legislators backing him to 21.

(With inputs from PTI)

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