Sasikala's estranged brother Dhivakaran launches political party

Earlier, Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran, legislator from RK Nagar in Chennai, had floated his Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) after being sidelined from the ruling AIADMK by a section of the Ministers while the two factions led by Chief Minister Edappdi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam merged last year.

Dhivakaran floated his ‘Anna Dravidar Kazhagam,’ named after veteran Dravidian leader CN Annadurai, fondly addressed as ‘Anna,’ which means elder brother in Tamil.

Dhivakaran, who has fallen out of favour with Sasikala following his public spat with their nephew Dhinakaran, also introduced his party flag with red and black stripes, with an added green star in the centre.

Incidentally, green is considered a favourite colour of the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who headed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) at the time of her demise in December 2016.

Later, speaking to reporters, Dhivakaran said he would be the Anna Dravidar Kazhagam’s general secretary.

Sasikala, serving a prison term in Bengaluru in connection with the Rs 66.6 crore disproportionate assets case, had last month served a legal notice on Dhivakaran, asking him to desist from taking her name in his public utterances. She had then charged her sibling with speaking in support of AIADMK leaders Palaniswami and his deputy Panneerselvam, who have fallen out with her.

She had issued the notice to Dhivakaran in the wake of his tussle with Dhinakaran coming to the fore in the first quarter of the year.

Dhivakaran, however, dubbed the notice as another instance of “blackmail politics” by his nephew Dhinakaran and said he would henceforth not address Sasikala as his sister.

He had then said as per the notice she had become his “former sister.” He also accused her of destroying the party built by their family.

It may be noted that Dhinakaran was criticised for not having Anna and Dravidar in the name of the party when it was launched by him in March.

Reacting to the launch, Law Minister CVe Shanmugham said, “Hundreds who started political parties boasting to accrue to power in the state since the advent of the AIADMK have vanished from the political space. Nobody would come in the way of this government which is formed by the late leader J Jayalalithaa, and it would remain in power forever.

None has it in them to rise against the AIADMK.”