AIADMK MLA Supporting Dhinakaran Returns to Palaniswami Camp

Chennai: An AIADMK MLA supporting rival leader T T V Dhinakaran Tuesday returned to the K Palaniswami-led ruling camp, giving a shot in the arm for the Chief Minister post the April 18 Lok Sabha polls. Another key aide of the AMMK leader also announced returning to the ruling party fold.

AIADMK MLA E Rathinasabapathy, one of the three pro-Dhinakaran AIADMK MLAs who were served with notices by Speaker P Dhanapal in April for alleged anti-party activities, met Palaniswami here and later said the two other MLAs would also join him soon in returning to the ruling camp.

Dhinakaran earlier suffered high-profile dessertion post the party's drubbing in the parliamentary elections, with former aide and ex-MLA Thangatamizhselvan jumping ship to join the DMK last week.

Another confidante, V Senthil Balaji, had quit AMMK earlier to join the DMK. Scores of other lower level party workers have also been leaving AMMK to join AIADMK or DMK.

Another key Dhinakaran aide and former Minister Esakki Subbiah also announced he was quitting AMMK to return to the "mother organisation", i.e AIADMK.

On Tuesday, Rathinasabapathy called on Palaniswami and vowed to work for AIADMK in full swing like he had done earlier.

He said he had gone "wayward", alluding to siding with Dhinakaran, but said that party has now been "ignored" by people.

"This is the true AIADMK. People have recognised this as it has the party's symbol (Two Leaves) and that this is Amma's true AIADMK," he said.

"I always wanted this party to remain united as I have been a long time worker. I want to succeed again and live up to the dreams of Amma (the late J Jayalalithaa). So all from that camp (AMMK) should come here," he told reporters.

Asked about deposed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, now serving a jail term in Bengaluru for a graft case, he only said "all should remain united."

On the notice issued to him and the two others, A Prabhu and V T Kalaiselvan, he recalled that they had earlier moved the Supreme Court and obtained a stay against it.

He hinted that things would fall in place since he had returned to the AIADMK, saying "we will give an explanation" to the notice.

Asked about the stand of the other two MLAs, he said they also would return to the ruling party fold.

Meanwhile, Subbiah told reporters in Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district that following the advice of his supporters and friends, he had decided to return to AIADMK.

"Our supporters and friends said we should go back to our mother organisataion. And we are going to go to that mother organisation," he said.

He said he, along with 20,000 supporters, would join the ruling party in the presence of Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam at an event here later this week.

Subbiah, also a former AIADMK Minister, took objection to Dhinakaran's public criticism of him.