LS polls: Vote share of AIADMK under EPS declined by 13%, says AMMK leader Dhinakaran

CHENNAI: AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran on Wednesday squarely blamed Edappadi K Palaniswami for the electoral debacle of the AIADMK in the 18th parliamentary polls and said the vote share of the AIADMK declined by 13%.

Palaniswami and his coterie have been destroying the AIADMK. It has been facing defeat since the R K Nagar by-poll in 2017 and the party's vote bank has reduced by 13%.

However, Palaniswami is cooking up some figures and claiming that the AIADMK vote share increased by 1% this poll.

But the fact is that the AIADMK vote share declined drastically in around 20 constituencies, said Dhinakaran and pointed out the AIADMK candidates, including former MP J Jayavardhan in Chennai South, lost deposit in the polls.

The AMMK leader continued in the same vein and said that he secured close to 3 lakh votes, but the AIADMK candidate forfeited deposit in the constituency that was considered as the AIADMK stronghold.

"Palaniswami and a few other selfish persons are fooling themselves by thinking that they have the party and the 'Two-Leaves' symbol with them. The true loyalists and cadres of the AIADMK should not fall for their tricks and work to revive the party, " he said.

He continued that he would face the upcoming assembly polls as part of the National Democratic Alliance and emerge victorious to form the government.

The ruling DMK would taste a defeat similar to the assembly results in 2011, while the AIADMK under the EPS would continue its unsuccessful electoral journey.

"We will hold talks with the NDA leaders and decide on fielding candidates in the by-poll, " he said while responding on fielding candidates for the bypoll for Vikravandi constituency.