With the latest developments emerging from the AIADMK and talks of a possible patch up getting rife, it seems the members of the Mannargudi family are likely to be kept out of the party ranks.
As details of a possible deal between the two factions emerge, V.K. Sasikala or her nephew T.T.V. Dinakaran or anyone from the Mannargudi family will no longer hold important posts in the combined party.
However, even after an hour-long meeting with Dinakaran at his Karpagam Gardens residence, AIADMK senior leader and Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan failed to clear the air if Sasikala and Dinakaran would continue to hold their respective party posts. “This is a new question. I cannot answer,” said an amused Sengottaiyan when asked if Sasikala and Dinakran will resign from their party positions as interim general secretary and deputy general secretary, respectively.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy, after two meetings with Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai yesterday and continuous discussions with his cabinet ministers today, is anxiously waiting for a decision on his post as the state chief minister. The chief minister's post and getting back the ‘two leaves’ symbol are his primary concerns at the moment.
It is said, Palanisamy is keen on getting the merger done before the Election Commission of India calls for the next hearing on the ‘two leaves’ symbol row.
On the other hand, stipulations are rife that Dinakaran is not ready for a compromise other than the deputy general secretary post. The other option that he reportedly discussed with ministers Srinivasan and Sengottaiyan is that he can afford to step down if his aunt Sasikala is allowed to continue as the interim general secretary of the party, while still being in the Bengaluru prison.
In such a situation, Dinakaran will continue as the member of the party and as a member of the AIADMK’s high level committee.
However, OPS camp seems to have scuttled Dinakaran's offer. “The medical treatment given to Amma should be made transparent and an enquiry to the same should be held. Elevation of Sasikala as general secretary of the party can't be accepted as per the party byelaw. When her elevation itself can't be accepted, how can TTV Dinakaran become the deputy general secretary?” asked OPS during a press conference at Periyakulam.
Meanwhile, former minister and senior leader from the OPS faction K.P. Munusamy, the first man to rebel against the Sasikala’s elevation, said, “We will accept merger only if the entire Sasikala clan is cleansed from the party.”
However Dinakaran, sources say, is in no mood to relent. People close to him feel the OPS faction’s demand is too much and it might derail the entire merger arrangement.
But according to sources in the OPS faction, Dinakaran’s ouster and distancing the family from the party is the only way. Otherwise, fresh criminal cases might put him in more troubles.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Crime Branch Police, which was all set to fly to Chennai to serve a summons to Dinakaran, has reportedly postponed the trip and might not serve the summons immediately. “This means it has put on hold the summons till the deal is struck,” says Raja Rajan, of AIADMK cadre from Dinakaran’s hometown Periyakulam.
With this, both the AIADMK factions have decided to come together, but sans the Sasikala family. Hence, the good old days of the Mannargudi family's hegemony over the party might soon be coming to an end.
“It is not coming to an end. They are going to face very strong unheard of challenges which they did not face even when Jaya was alive. This is going to be a life or death issue for the Sasikala clan. The interesting development is that the AIADMK have started thinking about the fate of the party if it goes to the Sasikala clan,” says R Ramasubramanian, political analyst and senior journalist. “ Since most of the AIADMK seniors are experienced they have identified the actual problem. With Modi-government's backing and the coming together of AIADMK leaders, they will be able to achieve a complete eradication of the Mannargudi mafia. Slowly, the rhythm is dawning on them.”
For the family, who indirectly controlled the power and politics for years during the days of Jayalalithaa, it might not be easy to hold the party together and continue their hegemony.
While the two-day episode of possible summons to Dinakaran, talks of merger and meeting of MLAs and ministers in the middle of the sea on INS Chennai and Samuthra, indicate the onslaught on the Sasikala clan, it is Panneerselvam, who finally seems to have got his pound of flesh.
