Instead of engaging in a stock-taking exercise or fixing responsibility for the drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha election and the Assembly bypolls, AIADMK leaders have instructed senior functionaries to stick to a single agenda: get AMMK cadre back into the party fold.
Following inputs that many cadre from the splinter group are eager to rejoin the AIADMK in the wake of the ‘poor’ showing of the AMMK in the polls, the ruling party’s high-command is in no mood to wait or waste time.
“Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam have briefed select functionaries from the southern districts, where the AMMK claims to hold sway among the Thevar community,” a Minister from the region told The Hindu on Wednesday.
The cadre and mid-level functionaries who parted ways with the AIADMK and joined the T.T.V. Dhinakaran-led grouping were being sent ‘strong’ feelers to come back, he said.
“I have been asked not to dig holes or try to find who was responsible for the defeat of the MP and MLA candidates. I have been given the task of identifying cadre and speaking to them personally,” the Minister said.
Stronger together
Going by the results and figures of the recent polls, the Minister said the ruling party was confident of winning future elections — be it the local body polls or the Assembly election in 2021 — if AMMK cadre were brought back to the AIADMK.
Of 9 seats in the south where bypolls were held last month, the AIADMK could have won one or two seats more with the support of AMMK cadre, whose party came third, next to the AIADMK, thus handing the seats to the DMK, he said.
Southern seats
For instance, in the case of Andipatti (Theni district), the DMK emerged victorious by defeating the AIADMK. A glance at the votes polled by the AIADMK (74,756) and the AMMK (28,313) indicated that if they had remained together, the total votes polled would have been 1,03,069, which would have helped them defeat the DMK, which polled 87,079 votes.
Similarly, in Periakulam Assembly constituency, the DMK polled 88,393 votes, while the AIADMK got 68,073 votes and the AMMK, 26,338 votes. Hence, the total votes polled by the AIADMK and the AMMK combined would have been 94,411 — 6,018 votes more than that of the DMK.
Another senior Minister said Michael Royappan, who contested from Tirunelveli as an AMMK candidate, joined the AIADMK two days ago, with more to follow.
