Tamil Nadu's former chief minister O Panneerselvam said on Wednesday that talks of the merger of the two factions of the AIADMK will begin now. OPS announced that delinking TTV Dinakaran and VK Sasikala from the party was the first victory for them. Expulsion of Dinakaran and his aunt Sasikala was the foremost precondition given by OPS for any talks of merger to go through. “Both the factions will talk to fulfil the aspirations of lakhs of party workers. This is our faction's first victory that Sasikala and her family have been ousted from the party,” OPS was quoted by news agency ANI as saying. Dinakaran refused to step down as party deputy general secretary arguing that he had to first consult his aunt Sasikala, party general secretary, who is serving a sentence in a Bengaluru jail. Dinankaran had also called for a meeting of MLAs and district secretaries on Wednesday afternoon at AIADMK headquarters. However, the move to delink Dinakaran and Sasikala was taken at a crucial late night gathering called by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami. The meeting was attended by several ministers, MLAs and two MPs. Sasikala was the victim of a coup on Tuesday as a large section of MLAs that previously supported her turned. It was decided that Sasikala and her family will be delinked from the party and the government. The ruling faction then decided to move on with discussions of a merger between the two rival factions. Dinakaran, meanwhile, convened a meeting with MLAs hours after the decision to delink him from the party was announced. It is for the second time since the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa that the party has seen a revolt against the leading functionaries. The first coup was against O Panneerselvam who was chosen as CM by the AIADMK legislature party after Amma's death. However, barely two months later, he was allegedly forced to step down from his post following which he was expelled from the party. He recruited several more rebels and formed his rival faction. Just over two months later, the rebels now look to join hands with the ruling faction. OPS camp seems to have turned the tables against the close group that orchestrated his expulsion. It is said that the party leaders, cadre and government want Sasikala and her family to maintain distance. Finance Minister D Jayakumar, who attended the meeting held by EPS, said, “Sasikala’s family will be delinked from the party’s affairs. More than 1.5 crore AIADMK cadres wish that the family of Dinakaran should be kept out.” Amid the political turmoil, a lookout notice was issued by the police against Dinakaran to ensure he doesn't leave the country. Dinakaran was booked by the Delhi for allegedly trying to bribe an Election Commission official to reclaim the party's two leaves symbol that was frozen after both the factions split. A lookout notice means that he will be on scanner at all exit points in the country that provide exit to another country like airports, sea ports, international highway border crossings, train stations linked to neighbouring countries et al. DCP (Crime Branch) Madhur Verma has confirmed issue of the lookout notice against Dinakaran. He is alleged to have used a middleman named Sukesh Chandrasekhar to bribe the Election Commission official with Rs. 1.3 crore cash in order to reclaim the symbol. Six MLAs including P Vetrivel and Thanga Tamilselvan have extended support to Dinakaran. Also, Nanjil Sampath and Tamil Magan Hussein, senior leaders in the party, held meetings with Dinakaran. Meanwhile, OPS camp held a separate discussion over the ensuing political situation in both factions and in the state. Senior leader MP V Maithreyan party of OPS camp denied all allegations of being a hardliner and reasserted her demand that Jayalalithaa's death must be probed. Maithreyan contends that the Sasikala faction came to OPS camp for refuge the moment Dinakaran was booked and it was forced into discussing the merger. “A series of raids by central agencies (at Health Minister Vijaybaskar’s properties) and the case against Dinakaran forced them to come to us for shelter,” he claimed. “Their theory that the BJP is behind us is not true. If the symbol was their concern, they should have discussed the merger when the EC decided to freeze it. Now they have come to us for shelter after a minister was raided and Dinakaran was booked by police,” claimed Maithreyan. It is believed that a merger will mean a top position in the party for OPS and reports suggest he will be given the finance portfolio in the government.
