The split that the AIADMK has suffered is only temporary, said O. Panneerselvam, leader of the breakaway AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) group. He hinted that the gulf between the factions may be bridged once the results of the upcoming byelection in Chennai’s R.K. Nagar come in.
In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Panneerselvam said that despite the “unusual circumstance” of 122 AIADMK MLAs remaining with the AIADMK faction helmed by T.T.V. Dhinakaran, nephew of V.K. Sasikala, he believed that “they will listen to their conscience and take a good decision after the R.K. Nagar election.”
Claiming that his singular focus was on meeting the socioeconomic needs of Tamil Nadu through the AIADMK “movement” as conceived by former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, Mr. Panneerselvam said he did not discuss alliance prospects in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he met the latter in January.
Mr. Panneerselvam refuted DMK working president M.K. Stalin’s allegation that he had links with jailed sand mining baron Sekhar Reddy, and attributed his own view on Rama Mohana Rao, former Chief Secretary, to not receiving any indication from Income Tax authorities that Mr. Rao had committed any crime.
