Chennai: V.K. Sasikala, her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran and her family have been ousted from the AIADMK and its government in Tamil Nadu , said state minister D. Jayakumar on Tuesday night.
“The 1.5 crore cadres of the AIADMK wish that Dinakaran and family are kept away from the party affairs. So we have decided that going forward Dinakaran and his family will not have any influence in the party and government,” said D. Jayakumar, minister of finance and fisheries.
He also added that they are ready for the merger talks with O. Panneerselvam.
A committee will be formed to decide on the further course of action for the party.
R. Vaithilingam, C. V. Shanmugam and other senior leaders also said that the party and the government will be “safeguarded from the clutches of the Dinakaran family.”
Earlier on Tuesday, efforts to orchestrate a merger of AIADMK’s rival factions run aground on Tuesday after Panneerselvam stuck to his stand that a patch-up would only be possible after the ouster of party general secretary V.K. Sasikala and her nephew and deputy T.T.V. Dinakaran.
The faction of the AIADMK led by Sasikala had made it clear that there cannot be riders for merger talks, with some loyalists asserting the two leaders would continue to be at the helm of the party.
Speculations had swirled in the state’s political circles about a possible pact between Palaniswami and Panneerselvam under which both Sasikala and Dinakaran could be dumped. Under the arrangement, Palaniswami would continue as chief minister while Panneerselvam would be appointed AIADMK general secretary, a post that was held by J Jayalalithaa till her death.
PTI contributed to this story.