In December last year, when T.T.V. Dhinakaran won the R.K. Nagar bypolls by a margin of over 40,000 votes, people looked up to him as a promising leader who can deliver. And a few days later, when he took over as the MLA and went into the assembly to speak against the ruling party with which he was associated till a few months before, he was believed to be someone who can take on the government when it puts a foot wrong. But now, months later, he is just yet another leader, who will soon launch a new outfit to pull in the disgruntled elements in the ruling AIADMK.
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Dhinakaran’s victory in the R.K. Nagar constituency, the seat once held by AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa, was decisive. His victory gave him confidence to move ahead politically. The pressure cooker symbol that he adopted in the polls was also considered a symbol of victory. Dhinakaran had sought the cooker symbol and a temporary name for his group to interact with the electorate in the eventuality of elections to local bodies or any other polls held before his claim to the party's symbol was decided.
The court asked the Election Commission to allot the symbol and a suitable name that he had sought. He had given a list of three names, including All India Amma Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In a reply affidavit to his petition, AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and deputy coordinator Edappadi K. Palanisamy said that there will no immediate elections to the local bodies as claimed by Dhinakaran and there is no need for any immediacy in allotting the symbol. However, the AIADMK has categorically said that it will not allow Dhinakaran to use Amma's name. “We will not allow Dhinakaran to use the name AIADMK and we will take all legal steps for this purpose," the state fisheries minister D. Jayakumar told reporters.
Founded by M.G. Ramachandran aka MGR in 1972, the AIADMK is facing turbulent times for the second time in four decades. In 1987, after the death of MGR, the fight between his wife Janaki and Jayalalithaa led to a split. But Jayalalithaa not only managed to take over the party but helped it grow immensely. While Dhinakaran’s men expect him to do an Amma, the split, as of now, may not help him capitalise, as he is no cult figure that Jayalalithaa was.
Also, with the anti-Sasikala mood in the state refusing to die down and Dhinakaran coming from the Sasikala family, it might hurt him in general elections. “He might know the art of winning an election. But it can work only when it comes to a byelection. He cannot continue to be the darling of the state as he was when he won the R.K. Nagar polls,” said a senior AIADMK minister, who is considered to be a Dhinakaran supporter in the government.
However, with the friction between Chief Minister Palanisamy (EPS) and Deputy Chief Minister Panneerselvam increasing day by day, Dhinakaran stands to benefit. Dhinakaran's recent public meetings in different districts have taken his graph up. Also, the more than 3,000 people in the party, who were recently removed by EPS-OPS duo from the basic party membership for anti-party activities, might side with Dhinakaran.
Some of them may go with actor Rajinikanth, if he launches his party. “Rajinikanth has started invoking the name of MGR. This is a magnet that will pull many AIADMK members,” says the minister. But again, Dhinakaran staying powerful depends on the court's verdict in the disqualification case of 18 MLAs. They were disqualified by the Speaker last year. Dhinakaran’s MLAs had then gone to the Madras High Court, requesting the court to declare the Speaker’s decision null and void.