Chennai

Vijayadharani, however, termed it a personal visit, precisely, to condole the recent death of Dinakaran’s mother-inlaw Santhanalakshmi, who breathed her last in Thanjavur last week.

“I know her for long. She used to invite me for family functions too. She used to pack us lunch during our election campaigns when Congress was in alliance with the AIADMK. She was very hospitable.

Many from the family (Dinakaran’s family) had visited me during my husband’s death. I could not visit at the time of her death and hence made it on Saturday. I did not think about the DMK or being a political opponent for a moment.

I just wanted to condole her death,” she told DT Next.

Asked if she discussed politics with Dinakaran, she said, “He is embarking on a statewide tour to strengthen the party. I wished him a grand success.” However, the Vilavancode MLA did not hesitate to add that the BJP was arm-twisting regional parties to usurp power in the states. “I believe we should do everything at our disposal to stop the arm-twisting BJP and prevent fundamentalist elements from gaining a foothold in Tamil Nadu,” she remarked, apparently, referring to the way the various AIADMK factions were hobnobbing with the BJP bosses in New Delhi.

Vijayadharani is no stranger to such surprises. The Congress MLA had baffled the ally DMK earlier when she visited former chief minister J Jayalalithaa at Fort St George. More than the visit, her subsequent statements that Jayalalithaa was her inspiration in politics got on the nerves of the DMK leaders then.

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