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Dhinakaran says he may support Mayawati, Mamata post-Lok Sabha elections
AMMK is contesting in 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one lone seat in Puducherry.
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Friday said that his outfit may support secular parties like Bahujan Samaj Party and Trinamool Congress Party post the Lok Sabha elections.
Dhinakaran said that his party will record a massive victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha and by-polls for 18 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.
On a question if he meant Congress by secular party, the rebel AIADMK leader responded by saying that Congress is not the only the secular party.
“Supporting a secular party does not mean support for Congress. There are several parties like Mayawati’s BSP and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. I will clear my stance after the elections. Anyway, our AMMK MPs will be in the position to decide the next Prime Minister of the nation,” Dhinakaran said. .
Three out of the 18 disqualified MLAs who stand with Dhinakaran have got the tickets to contest in Lok Sabha polls. Of them, Dhinakaran’s lieutenant and AMMK strongman in south, Thanga Tamilselvan is all set to lock horns with deputy CM and AIADMK co-ordinator O Panneerselvam’s son O P Raveendranath Kumar in Theni parliamentary seat.
Thanga Tamilsevan was elected from Andipatti assembly constituency in 2016 elections. AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran and the party’s demised supremo Jayalalithaa had won in Andipatti seat earlier.
“Since I wanted Tamilselvan to fight from a Lok Sabha seat, I suggested that (Theni) to him. He agreed. It is inappropriate to compare Tamilselvan with OP Raveendranath. Tamilselvan was a senior AIADMK leader. His family had decades old legacy in the party,” Dhinakaran added.
Raveendranath has said that AIADMK is not afraid for Tamilselvan. “Even Dhinakaran can file his nomination papers against me, I or AIADMK are not afraid of them”.
Like as Tamilselvan, two other disqualified MLAs—former minister P Palaniyappan (won from Pappireddypatti assembly seat) and G Parthipan (elected from Sholingur assembly seat) — are to contest from Dharmapuri and Arakkonam seats as AMMK candidate.
While Palaniyappan is taking on PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss, Parthipan will fight against DMK strongman and business tycoon Jagathrakshagan and PMK’s AK Moorthy.
AMMK is contesting in 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one lone seat in Puducherry. It has also fielded candidates for 18 assembly seats for the by-polls. Social Democratic Party of India, an ally of AMMK, is contesting from the Central Chennai seat.
Dhinakaran has launched his AMMK in March 2018 at Madurai. Since he floated a party, he has been saying that the real workers of AIADMK are with him and AIADMK led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam is just packed with MLAs and MPs.
