Five Members of Parliament owing allegiance to the Sasikala camp have changed their tack by conveying their support to the official AIADMK so as to escape from possible disqualification under the anti-defection law.
Since last Thursday, when the Election Commission of India allotted the Two leaves symbol and the name AIADMK to the faction headed by O Panneerselvam and Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy, an action which conferred them the legacy of MGR and Jayalalithaa, the Dinakaran/Sasikala faction has changed its strategy from open defiance to subversion and sniping.
The action of five Members of Parliament over the last two days meeting Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy and conveying their support to the official AIADMK should have strengthened the AIADMK’s position. But most of the senior leaders in the AIADMK are upset because these MPs did not call on Panneerselvam, the chief of the party.
“A Navaneethakrishnan, N Gokulakrishnan and Vijila Satyanand called on Palaniswamy at his official residence and told him that they were with him. It would have been fairer had they called on Panneerselvam, who heads the AIADMK. Interestingly, the Chief Minister’s official residence is near to the residence of OPS,” said a veteran AIADMK leader who did not want his name to be quoted.
He said the Chief Minister could have informed Panneerselvam about the Ghar Wapsi decision of the MPs. “This would have created a sense of solidarity and happiness,” said the leader.
But the announcement by TTV Dinakaran, the nephew of Sasikala that the MPs had crossed over to the AIADMK only after seeking his blessings has caused scepticism among leaders of the parent body. “They had told me that they would re-join me once the Supreme Court stays the ECI order. They are frightened of the possibility of them getting disqualified from Rajya Sabha,” said Dinakaran reacting to the decision of the MPs to side with Palaniswamy.
All the five MPs are known for their loyalty to the Sasikala clan. Navaneethakrishnan had created a raucous in front of the private hospital in Chennai last month when Sasikala came on parole from the Banglore jail to be with her ailing husband. He fought with the police who prevented him from entering the hospital premises to pat his obeisance to Chinnamma.
Dinakaran’s statement should be read in the backdrop of his earlier announcement about the presence of sleeper cells owing allegiance to him in the faction headed by OPS and EPS. “The sleeper cells will become operational at the right time and it will finish off the Palaniswamy Government,” Dinakaran had said.
V Anbazhagan, political commentator, who is also a specialist in the AIADMK affairs, pointed out that the decision of the five MPs to join the OPS/EPS camp was a strategy to escape from possible disqualification. “Dr V Maitreyan, MP had recently met Rajya Sabha secretary general and discussed the possibility of getting the MPs owing allegiance to the Sasikala camp disqualified under the anti-defection law. This is the reason for their sudden change of stance,” Anbazhagan told The Pioneer.
He also pointed out the statement made by Navaneethakrishnan. “We will be there where the Two leaves are there,” the Rajya Sabha member told reporters after calling on the chief minister.
“It would have been nice had they called on Panneerselvam too,” said Dr Mytreyan about the development. The rumbling within the AIADMK is gathering momentum and could erupt as a severe earthquake any time , according to Anbazhagan.
