While Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his supporters have to some extent succeeded in sidelining AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, they are not in a position to completely alienate him due to their ongoing battle in the Election Commission to retrieve the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol.
The government too has been surviving on a wafer-thin majority of six MLAs, and with around 25 to 30 MLAs expressing solidarity with Mr. Dhinakaran, they can’t rule out a threat to their regime.
An indication of the piquant situation facing the government came on Sunday when Finance Minister D. Jayakumar, who has been speaking out against Mr. Dhinakaran since late April, hit out against possible attempts to derail the government.
“Whoever it may be, be it A or B – you will understand who is A or B – if they intend to derail the government, they would do injustice. If they indulge in conspiracy, Amma’s (Jayalalithaa) soul would not forgive them. Even this country would not forgive traitors,” Mr. Jayakumar said.
Affidavit conundrum
Another dilemma facing the Chief Minister’s camp is how it could withdraw its affidavits filed before the Election Commission endorsing Mr. Dhinakaran’s appointment as deputy general secretary. In the absence of a merger with the AIADMK (PTA), it can’t risk withdrawing the affidavits as it would give former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam an advantage.
On Sunday, at least seven ministers, including some seniors, whom The Hindu contacted, refused to comment on the affidavits submitted to the EC.
Professor Ramu Manivannan of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Madras explains that the affidavits were submitted before the fissures between Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Dhinakaran emerged, and hence, their stand might change now.
Political analyst R. Mani contended that the Chief Minister might well be waiting for instructions from the BJP leadership about how to deal with the affidavits.