Is Theni heavyweight next to quit AMMK?

However, the future role of AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran is the only issue that is delaying the merger, a confidential source told DT Next.

Besides the merger talks, Theni’s AMMK strongman Thangathamizh Selvan’s name is also making rounds among the AIADMK functionaries that the former Andipatti MLA would soon join the ruling camp led by chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The unconfirmed report in the AIADMK headquarters is that the loyalists of EPS are wooing the disqualified MLA Thangathamizh Selvan so that the move would be a double bonanza for the EPS team. “Even during Amma (Jayalalithaa) days, Thangathamizh Selvan and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam are known for infights. If the Andipatti MLA returns to the AIADMK it will weaken the faction led by the AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran and will also reduce the influence of deputy CM O Panneerselvam in Madurai – Theni area dominated by Thevar community,” a confidential AIADMK senior said.

However, Thangathamizh Selvan denied the reports as rumours. “I will be with TTV Dhinakaran but wish that there is a merger between the AMMK and the AIADMK, so that the DMK is kept out of power,” Thangathamizh Selvan told DT Next.

“Without talking to me and getting the facts cleared, rumours are being spread. After the demise of MGR, my father stood by Amma and she kept the DMK under check. To fight against the DMK, the parties should merge,” he said. To a query that Senthil Balaji is wooing AMMK functionaries to join the DMK, Selvan, who is also the AMMK propaganda secretary said that it is not that easy to poach the AMMK or the AIADMK functionaries. Senthil Balaji is an exception but just imagine how will the traditional followers of Amma join the rebel camp led by DMK.

“With the Lok Sabha approaching and 20 MLAs seat lying vacant, the merger of the AMMK with the parent party is definitely good for both the parties. But before the merger, the leaders of all the factions should hear the voice of cadres and ensure that party workers are united at the grass root,” opined former AIADMK MLA Ku Sreenivasan who is also in the AIADMK panel of election in-charge to the vacant assembly seats. “This is like sibling rivalry and needs to be solved before the merger and a united AIADMK will definitely be a nightmare for the DMK led by M K Stalin.

“Two conditions were discussed during the merger of OPS and the EPS team, first was the judicial inquiry on Amma’s death and second is that no to have a truck with the Sasikala family,” said MGR Mandram functionary Poonga Nagar Selvam. It was Sasikala who brought a bad name to Amma and the party. The merger without TTV Dhinakaran and Sasikala is the wish of majority of Amma and MGR followers in TN, he added.