TTV Dhinakaran, dissident leader who was eased out of the AIADMK by the Edappadi Palaniswami-O Panneerselvam duo has chosen to strike back in style. On March 15, Dhinakaran will announce the name of a new party to be headed by him and his aunt VK Sasikala to take on Chief Minister Palaniswami and his deputy Panneerselvam.

A mammoth rally is being convened at Melur in Madurai district on Thursday, a day chosen by his favourite astrologers where Dhinakaran will announce the name of the political outfit to be launched by him.

The timing of the announcement is crucial as the Madras High Court is all set to pronounce the verdict of a petition filed by 18 MLAs of the AIADMK who were disqualified by Speaker P Dhanapal for submitting a memorandum to the Governor withdrawing their support to Edappady Palaniswami. The disqualified MLAs had pleaded to the court to quash the disqualification order.

Besides the 18 disqualified MLAs, Dhinakaran has the support of many other MLAs in the AIADMK, whom he describes as his sleeper cells. “This party is being launched as part of a strategy to prove to the Election Commission that we are the real AIADMK,” Thanka Tamil Chelvan, a close confidante of Dhinakaran told The Pioneer.

He said EPS and OPS managed to win a favourable order from the Election Commission with which they took possession of the AIADMK. “We will launch a political outfit, contest the election and win with a big margin which will help us to claim the AIADMK and the Two Leaves symbol from the EPS -OPS camp,” said Tamil Chelvan, who is one of the 18 MLAs disqualified by the Speaker.

Melur was the venue chosen by Dhinakaran in August 2017, to hold his first public rally which was a runaway success because of the number of party activists who were part in it. With the local body elections round the corner, Dhinakaran hopes to capitalise on the public support to him and Sasikala to seize the AIADMK.

“Right now we need a platform and a symbol. The Delhi High Court had asked the Election Commission of India to allot a name and symbol to the outfit to be launched by Dhinakaran. It is a tactical move by us,” said Tamil Chelvan.

Things continue to be in a State of fluidity in the EPS-OPS camp. “Things will become clear only after the verdict on the petition seeking to quash the disqualification of the 18 MLAs is pronounced by the MHC,” said a senior leader of the OPS-EPS camp.

Meanwhile, the two superstars of Tamil film industry, who launched their own political outfits are adding to the complexities of the political skyline of the State. Rajinikanth, who is yet to announce the name of his outfit left for Himalayas for a 15-day spiritual pilgrimage in a run up to the launching of his party. Kamal Haassan, who launched Makkal Neethi Maiyam is on a tour to south west Tamil Nadu with some catchy one-liners like “Don’t walk behind me; walk with me”, “Tomorrow is Ours” and “Demolish all Statues and Idols” which has gone down well with his fans.