October 5, 2018
Chennai : Tamil Nadu politics began heating up once again, ahead of crucial byelections to two assembly constituencies of Thiruvarur and Tirupparagundram with all the actors stepping up the drama quotient that makes politics very interesting.
On Friday, rebel AIADMK leader who broke away from the party and floated his own, TTV Dhinakaran dropped a political bombshell alleging that deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam wanted to team up with him to out Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami. The allegation, coming ahead of the crucial bye elections to the two state assemblies could well queer the pitch for the AIADMK if the party’s leaders could be discredited. Which is why Dhinakaran chose Panneerselvam, who has not been having the same clout he used to have as CM consolidated his position.
Dhinakaran told media persons on Friday that OPS wanted to meet him as early as late last month but asserted that he just ignored the overtures.
“I wanted to put a full stop to these kinds of attempts, which is why I have come out in the open with the OPS attempts,” Dhinakaran said.
“In September, O Panneerselvam had sent a message to me through a mediator seeking an appointment. The message sent was that he was ready to ditch EPS and join hands with me. OPS said that he would make me the chief minister. But I don’t want to have anything to with OPS,” Dhinakaran told media persons. TTV’s supporter, Thanga Tamilselvan has claimed that he has a video footage of a previous meeting of OPS, just before the merger of two AIADMK factions in August 2017, wherein the deputy chief minister was demanding that he be made the CM. The MLA said he could release the CCTV footage of the same at the appropriate time.
Political analysts see the situation in the state as fluid. Also because the Madras High court could be coming out with the verdict on disqualification of 18 MLAs. If an adverse decision comes, the EPS government will be under stress and even danger of losing majority.
Then there is a move to corner the government through a resolution to remove the speaker. The DMK will be in a bind and will have to support such a resolution as it had also levelled serious allegations against the speaker.
But political analysts see the goings on in Chennai as mere perception making moves ahead of two byelections to assembly seats. But then, there are some who do not rule out more dramatic developments in the days to come as CM is off to Delhi to call on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
There is speculation in Delhi political circles of an impending political development in Tamil Nadu. A dissolution of assembly and fresh polls is something that is very much within the ambit of Chief Minister, like what was done by Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhara Rao.