No immediate necessity to float party, says Dhinakaran

UDHAGAMANDALAM: Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran on Wednesday said there was no immediate necessity for him to float a new political party and said he would move the court seeking permission to function as AIADMK (Amma).

Dhinakaran said he had already moved the Madras high court challenging the validity of AIADMK general council meeting, which had annulled the appointment of his aunt VK Sasikala as party interim general secretary, and it was pending.Legal sanction would be sought for functioning as AIADMK (Amma) and a decision would be taken later, he told reporters.

He was responding to questions about reports that he was planning to float a new party.
Following a revolt against jailed leader Sasikala by now deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam early last year, the Election Commission had in an interim order frozen the AIADMK two-leaves symbol.

It alloted AIADMK (Amma) name to the group led by Sasikala and AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) to the erstwhile faction led by Panneerselvam.

In its final order last year, the EC had alloted the two-leaves symbol to the unified AIADMK led by Tamil Nadu chief minister E K Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, dealing a blow to the Sasikala faction.The Palaniswami-led group, which had earlier rebelled against Sasikala, merged with the Panneerselvam faction in August last year.

Dhinakaran, who won the RK Nagar assembly byelection in December last as an independent, said he had many options, including floating a new party.Claiming that Paneerselvam and Palaniswami were using the name AIADMK and two leaves symbol only temporarily, he said there were four options, including starting a new party, before his consideration.

"In view of this, there is no immediate necessity to start a party and if we are barred to use the AIADMK (Amma) name, there is no no other way but to float a new party which will be to retrieve the AIADMK and symbol," he said.Dhinakaran said his "sleeper cells" (in AIADMK) will come out during the test of strength in the assembly.

He had been claiming that several MLAs in the ruling camp were his supporters and would vote against the government when the occasion arose.