Predicting that the victory of T.T.V. Dhinakaran in the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency would in due course help him establish himself as the leader of the ruling AIADMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol. Thirumavalavan on Sunday said the DMK was defeated because its cadres did not fully involve themselves in the campaign.
“The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s attitude even gave room for the assumption that it had a secret understanding with Mr. Dhinakaran. The DMK leaders criticised the leadership of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam but spared Mr. Dhinakaran during the campaign,” Mr. Thirumavalavan, who had canvassed for votes for the DMK candidate, Marudu Ganesh, said in an interview with The Hindu.
The VCK leader said when he noticed the indifference of the local DMK leaders and cadres, he warned them not to underestimate the capacity of Mr. Dhinakaran.
“The DMK had left it to the two factions of the AIADMK (Dhinakaran and official AIADMK) to settle scores among themselves. I even informed DMK working president M.K. Stalin about the trend. I thought the DMK would come second in the election, but I was shocked that it has been relegated to the third position,” he said.
Dhinakaran’s ‘star value’
Contending that Mr. Dhinakaran had emerged as the true political heir of the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Mr. Thirumavalavan felt a cross-section of Ministers, MLAs, MPs and senior leaders would gradually rally behind his leadership. “AIADMK candidate E. Madhusudanan did not have an appeal among partymen and DMK’s Marudu Ganesh was not a prominent face in the constituency.
The only person who had a star value was Mr. Dhinakaran, who came across as a mature person and handled all issues effectively,” he said.
Arguing that the designs of the BJP to dominate the affairs of the AIADMK to create a political space for itself in the State had come a cropper, Mr. Thirumavalavan said the R.K. Nagar byelection results had proved that Tamil Nadu would continue to be under the rule of Dravidian parties in the foreseeable future.
“People sympathised with Mr. Dhinakaran because they realised that the aim of the BJP was to suppress the emergence of Sasikala in the AIADMK and to promote Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam. As far as I know, money was the last factor in the constituency. The DMK did not spend a single paise, and between them, Mr. Dhinakaran and the AIADMK spent ₹100 crore,” he said.
