TTV Dinakaran TTV Dinakaran

In a major blow to the Sasikala family, Tamil Nadu minister D Jayakumar on late Tuesday said that AIADMK has decided to delink deputy party secretary TTV Dinakaran and his family from the party and added that a committee will be formed to steer the party. The decision was taken after a meeting was held at Chief Minister E K Palaniswami’s residence.

“A decision has been taken to fully keep away Dhinakaran and his family from the party and the government,” he told reporters tonight. Jayakumar further said that the decision was “unanimous” and that it was based on views of all ministers, including the chief minister, MLAs, MPs, and public.

The latest development in the ongoing AIADMK faction war comes after negotiations between the ruling group (AIADMK-Amma) and the rebel faction (AIADMK-Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), led by former chief minister O Panneerselvam, on a possible merger were stalled earlier in the day. Maintaining a strong position, Panneerselvam had demanded the ouster of the party’s general secretary V K Sasikala and her nephew Dinakaran from the party.

Jayakumar, however, said the party’s decision was not linked to Panneerselvam’s demand that Sasikala and Dhinakaran should be kept away as a pre-condition for talks for merger of the rival factions. The minister also said that they were still prepared to hold talks with Panneerselvam.

Talks of a potential merger had emerged last evening after Dinakaran was booked by Delhi Police for allegedly trying to bribe an Election Commission official through a middleman to obtain the party’s two-leaves poll symbol ahead of the bypoll to R K Nagar assembly seat.

However, the poll, which was scheduled for April 12, was subsequently cancelled by the Election Commission amid allegations of bribing the voters. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in December last year.

With inputs from PTI

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