BJP yet to reach out to OPS, but he will rejoin NDA, says Dhinakaran
The AMMK leader also confirmed that there had been no communication from the BJP to reach out to Panneerselvam so far, but expressed confidence that the former Chief Minister would return to the alliance
AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran
CHENNAI:AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday said that BJP leaders in Delhi should hold talks with the chief coordinator of the AIADMK Cadres’ Rights Retrieval Committee, O Panneerselvam, to bring him back to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The AMMK leader also confirmed that there had been no communication from the BJP to reach out to Panneerselvam so far, but expressed confidence that the former Chief Minister would return to the alliance.
“We often speak. When we spoke yesterday (Monday) morning, he (Panneerselvam) told me that a section of the media had carried factually incorrect news claiming he refused to meet B L Santosh,” Dhinakaran told reporters, dispelling rumours regarding a meeting between Panneerselvam and Santosh during the latter’s recent visit to Chennai.
The AMMK leader further said that, to his knowledge, ‘no BJP leaders have got in touch with him till now’, and expressed his hope that the party’s leaders in Delhi would hold talks with Panneerselvam to bring him back to ‘our alliance’.
“I am very confident that he will reunite with the NDA,” he added.
Panneerselvam declared his exit from the NDA on July 31 after the cold reception he received from the saffron party.
The AMMK joined the NDA ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections in an attempt to defeat the DMK. However, their efforts did not yield the desired results. Now, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is taking several measures to forge a stronger alliance to achieve their common goal, Dhinakaran said, noting that they hoped to see a positive outcome by December this year.
The people of the state would respond to this by May 2026, said Dhinakaran, reacting to Chief Minister MK Stalin’s remark that the “AIADMK’s defeat in the 2026 polls would begin from the western belt”.
On VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan’s remark that late AIADMK leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa paved the way for the intrusion of Brahminism into the Dravidian movement, Dhinakaran said the statement clearly indicated that the VCK leader was in a state of confusion.
After realising his remark was inappropriate, he attempted to correct it by claiming that his speech had been misunderstood, Dhinakaran said.
He cautioned Thirumavalavan to refrain from making such statements about charismatic leaders who transcended caste and religion, warning that doing so could lead to undesirable consequences in future elections.
