Expect to see merger of factions soon: Palaniswami

"I expect to see it (merger) soon," he told reporters here without elaborating. His comments come in the wake of the rival O Panneerselvam-led Puratchi Thalaivi Amma faction stating that it had not heard from the Amma camp on the merger talks.

The merger has been on the cards for some time. Panneerselvam had last week said leaders in the rival camp were "only making comments" on the unification.

The former chief minister had on June 11 disbanded a seven-member panel formed by his faction to hold merger talks with the Amma camp, virtually bringing down the curtains on the unification talks.

Palaniswami's remarks today also came amid his faction's side-lined deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran trying to re-assert his position in the party, following the expiry of a 60-day deadline he had set for the merger of the two factions.

On Friday, Dhinakaran, sidelined by a section of the AIADMK cabinet including Palaniswami, had appointed his loyalists to key party positions, even as he announced embarking on a state-wide tour from August 14 to strengthen the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.