CHENNAI: As AMMK prepares to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), party chief TTV Dhinakaran is set to hold consultations with district secretaries on Wednesday (January21) to strategise the tone-down, after training guns on AIADMK chief Edappadi Palaniswami, ruling out joining the front till EPS remains the CM face of the tie-up.
Dhinakaran, who had earlier quit the NDA after stating that Edappadi K Palaniswami could not be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate, has now decided to rejoin the alliance following a request from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Dhinakaran had previously declared that his aim in the upcoming Assembly elections was to defeat Edappadi Palaniswami. In this backdrop, his decision to rejoin the AIADMK-led NDA has triggered confusion and concern among the AMMK cadres.
Party functionaries are sceptical about whether AIADMK workers will extend proper cooperation in the constituencies where AMMK candidates are contesting, due to the past political rivalry between TTV Dhinakaran and Edappadi K Palaniswami.
At the same time, doubts have also begun over the functionaries whether Dhinakaran would be able to effectively oppose the AIADMK in the political arena in future if he formally aligns with the National Democratic Alliance under Palaniswami's leadership.
In this context, TTV Dhinakaran has convened the meeting of district secretaries on Wednesday, during which he is expected to explain the reasons behind his decision to join the NDA, and he is also likely to seek feedback and opinions from district secretaries regarding the alliance.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who is also in charge of the BJP's Tamil Nadu election, is scheduled to arrive in Chennai on Wednesday. He is expected to hold talks with Dhinakaran, during the meeting TTV Dhinakaran is likely to place the demands regarding the number of assembly seats and their choice of constituencies the party wishes to contest in the upcoming elections, sources added.