The Windflower Resort in Chinna Veerampattinam, 11 km near here, became an unlikely stage for a political drama on Tuesday with 18 MLAs supporting ousted deputy general secretary of AIADMK T.T.V. Dhinakaran booking into the hotel to plan their next move.
Through the afternoon, it was speculated that the group of Dhinakaran loyalists was heading into the city and was looking at a few options in and around the city where they could stay and strategise. Eventually, at around 6 p.m., the legislators, except P. Vetrivel of Perambur, began to arrive at the Windflower in batches of three and four.
Andipatti MLA Thangatamilselvan was the first to check in followed by Thangadurai, S. Muthiah and others. Mr. Vetrivel is expected to arrive in the resort late evening or on Wednesday morning. Thangatamilselvan claimed that the number of MLAs supporting Mr. Dhinakaran would increase in the next few days.
The resort premises have came under heavy police bandobust. The media was kept off.
MLAs R. Thangadurai and S. Muthiah blamed O. Panneerselvam for precipitating a split in the party and engaging in attempts to destabilise the AIADMK rule.
The MLAs said that Mr. Panneerselvam had labelled the AIADMK as a party steeped in corruption. “It is mind-boggling that he has now been made Deputy CM without consulting us,” Mr. Thangadurai exclaimed. All the four legislators belonging to the Puducherry unit of the AIADMK, who had come out in support of Sasikala’s anointment as general secretary and favoured a rapprochement between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Mr. Dhinakaran, were conspicuous by their absence.