Ahead of Modi’s TN visit, TTV Dhinakaran returns to NDA fold, 4 months after his exit

Barely four months after his exit from the NDA, citing ‘betrayal’, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary TTV Dhinakaran is back into the alliance, led by the AIADMK, two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to poll-bound Tamil Nadu to kick off the saffron fold’s campaign for the assembly election.

“We cannot allow past issues to overshadow the party’s interests and the greater good of Tamil Nadu. Making compromises for the return of Amma’s rule (J Jayalalithaa’s rule) does not weaken us. Now, all of Amma’s cadres are united. We have come together and stand firmly to ensure the return of Amma’s rule,” he told the media on Wednesday shortly before meeting Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the BJP in-charge for the state. It is a significant climbdown from his earlier opposition to accepting AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS).

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Interestingly, the reunion took place without the EPS, whose chief ministerial candidacy was cited as a reason for the AMMK’s departure from the NDA in September. EPS too had initially resisted Dhinakaran’s reinduction into the alliance. Then he had said, “Betrayal never wins. We have waited patiently for a patch-up with the AIADMK, hoping they will reform or get reformed. Realising it is not going to happen, we have quit the NDA.” Following TTV’s return, EPS is holding an emergency consultation with senior leaders of the AIADMK. The AIADMK general council had earlier authorised EPS to decide on which parties could be constituents of the alliance led by the party.

Describing his earlier opposition to EPS as ‘a dispute between siblings and one among alliance partners’, he told a questioner, “Those who make amends will not become losers. siblings. The decision was taken with the larger objective of regime change to bring back Amma’s rule.” Recently, hinting at his re-entry into the NDA, Dhinakaran, addressing the AMMK general council, had said, “With elections around the corner, we can’t say who is our enemy or friend.” The AMMK returning to the NDA will add up an incremental strength to the alliance, particularly in the southern districts and in the Cauvery Delta region.

Besides the AIADMK, PMK of Anbumani faction, AMMK and the BJP, the other parties in the NDA in Tamil Nadu are minor ones like the TMC of former Union Minister GK Vasan, New Justice Party (NJP) and the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK), headed by educational barons AC Shanmugam and TR Pari Vendhar, respectively.

The visit of Goyal ahead of the PM’s visit to finalise the constituents of the alliance and ensure their presence on the stage at Modi’s rally near Chennai on Friday, billed as the grand show of the NDA.