Jolt for AMMK as Senthil Balaji set to join DMK

Senthil Balaji’s move is expected to provide a strong base for the DMK in the Kongu belt and would help the party make inroads into what was once an AIADMK stronghold.

Sources close to Senthil Balaji said he started the one-on-one closed door meetings around 4 pm on Sunday at his office in Karur and they went on till 2 am on Monday. After this, he has almost decided to switch over to the DMK along with at least 25,000 supporters in Chennai on December 16. The decision on this is expected to be announced on December 14.

 

Senthil Balaji was among the 18 MLAs disqualified by the Speaker and had strongly demanded that AMMK deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran appeal against the High Court verdict upholding their disqualification in the Supreme Court since they were not ready to face the election again. However, Dhinakaran apparently decided not to appeal and wanted to face the election, triggering an intra-party tussle.

 

Subsequently, Senthil Balaji, who played a key role in the party, started meeting his supporters separately and expressed his willingness to part with the AMMK.

“On Sunday, he called his supporters in groups of four and expressed his displeasure. He met at least 750 supporters and told them that his suggestions are not taken into consideration by Dhinakaran and having no other alternative, he has opted to dissociate himself from the party,” a Senthil Balaji supporter told DT Next. 

Top leaders of 21 Opposition parties, barring the BSP and the SP, on Monday met here and vowed to forge a united front to fight and defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, alleging “systematic denigration of democracy” and assault on the Constitution and institutions like the RBI under the BJP government.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), who are major players in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, skipped the meeting held on the eve of the winter session of Parliament starting Tuesday but no reason was given.

 

It is for the first time that AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu attended a joint opposition meet.

Among some of the prominent leaders who attended the meet were former PMs Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, DMK’s MK Stalin and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav. 

Followers of former CM J Jayalalithaa and old-timers are upset with unconfirmed reports that AMMK strongman Senthil Balaji is inching toward rival DMK. “Senthil Balaji is not answering the phone and his associates are not returning calls. 

Reporters have the freedom to ask questions, but we cannot directly question his credibility and allegiance to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam,” a top AMMK leader told DTNext. 

“The BJP and the DMK are working to decimate our Amma’s legacy by damaging the ruling AIADMK. At the same time they are constantly targeting our leader TTV Dhinakaran, so that the party would have no future leaders. This is really a tough time for us,” the disqualified MLA added.