All eyes on crucial AIADMK meet today

The ruling AIADMK which has been maintaining a friendly relationship with the BJP-led centre had summoned all its district secretaries and state Ministers for a high-level meeting at the party headquarters. AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami had convened a district secretaries meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting will discuss about the ensuing Lok Sabha polls and the BJP’s performance in the five states, said AIADMK sources. “We will discuss about the BJP’s performance, but no immediate action will be taken up tomorrow. A few party MPs had already conveyed their plans for the winter session in Parliament and this again will be discussed in the party meeting,” a senior AIADMK functionary said.

Issues like Mekedatu and the next course of legal proceedings, Cyclone Gaja compensation for Delta farmers due from the Centre, electoral alliance for Tamil Nadu and the 11 MLAs disqualification case pending before the Supreme Court are likely to be discussed.

Meanwhile, Union MinisterPon Radhakrishnan told reporters that the outcome of the results to the five states should not be taken as a report card of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s government. Though the state BJP did not win any Assembly segments in Kanniyakumari, the party won theKanniyakumari Lok Sabha seat by a huge margin, the Union Minister emphasised.

However in another development, state Minister for Fisheries D Jayakumar invited AMMK functionaries to return to the parent organisation, AIADMK. “Except TTV Dhinakaran and Sasikala family members all others in AMMK camp should join the AIADMK and ensure that the Amma-led government serves the public,” he appealed.

In a related development Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagamleader P Vettrivel clarified that there was no scope for the AMMK to join the ruling AIADMK, which has been friendly with the BJP and working against the interests of Tamil Nadu.

“AMMK is the party with two main objectives — first to rescue the AIADMK from the clutches of the BJP and then to protect the rights of Tamil Nadu, so where is the logic for the AMMK to merge with the AIADMK,” the former MLA said to DT Next. We are confident of facing all the polls be it Lok Sabha or Assembly alone, he added.