TTV’s claim of feelers from Ponnar for weak candidate sparks debate

Even before what transpired between actor Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth about the latter’s support to Makkal Needhi Maiam came to an end, another episode of behind the screen talk between the BJP and the AMMK surfaced on Wednesday.

AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran’s claim that Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan sent feelers to the AMMK asking him to field a weak candidate from Kanniyakumari has now triggered a massive debate between the NDA partners and the rebel AMMK.

Dhinakaran in an interview said that Pon Radhakrishnan through BJP state functionary Karupu Muruganandham conveyed that the Union Minister Radhakrishnan wanted the AMMK to field a weak candidate in Kanniyakumari, from where the Union Minister was seeking re-election.

BJP state secretary Karupu Muruganantham, however, denied that there was any such demand from the Union Minister to the AMMK. However, the BJP functionary has not denied that he had spoken to TTV Dhinakaran’s personal assistant Jana.

“The AMMK leader has been resorting to such acts for cheap politics and there seems to be no element of truth in it,” said AIADMK spokesperson Sivasankari. If TTV Dhinkaran continues this kind of laxed political etiquette, no political parties will be interested to even talk with the AMMK.

“This is not the first time the AMMK is doing such an act. They released the photos of former CM J Jayalalithaa when she was hospitalised. It was followed by reports of the Deputy Chief Minister meeting Dhinakaran. In politics, there is always space for personal communications and understandings, but Dhinakaran lacks the political decorum to understand and has been doing such things for the advancement of his political career,” the AIADMK spokesperson concluded.

Meanwhile, BJP functionary Muruganandham also claimed that he was ready to expose the AMMK leader. “Before the RK Nagar bypolls, Dhinakaran was keen to meet the BJP leaders in Delhi,” Muruganandham shot back during an interaction with the media.