Sasikala banners removed, but AIADMK merger stuck on CM’s post

A senior EPS group leader said the OPS faction has been delaying the merger talks for over a week, even after the main demand — to denounce the Sasikala family — was fulfilled last week. The Sasikala faction has fallen silent on Dinakaran’s arrest on the charge that he allegedly tried to bribe Election Commission officials to use the party symbol in a bypoll for the R K Nagar seat, which fell vacant because of J Jayalalithaa’s death. The leadership is clueless on how to keep Sasikala and her family out when party organs, such as the mouthpiece Namadhu MGR, Jaya TV and several assets of the party, remain with her loyalists.

An opinion piece published by Namadhu MGR two days ago irked OPS as it praised the Sasikala family and asserted that party cadres will support her. A senior AIADMK minister said that by denouncing Dinakaran — Sasikala’s nephew who had reportedly fallen out of favour with his aunt for wanting to contest the election against her wishes — the faction had gained the first victory. “By removing the Sasikala banners, the OPS faction won the second stage. The crucial part is about the CM post, for which OPS and EPS are still fighting. “Whether Sasikala herself is kept out or not, the merger deal will be sealed if EPS agree to step down as CM,” he said.

He added that Dinakaran’s exit from the party would have happened any way as his decision to contest the R K Nagar bypoll was against the advice of Sasikala and had also disturbed EPS as he had feared Dinakaran would demand the CM’s chair after winning the election. A senior BJP leader said party president Amit Shah may visit Chennai on May 10 to draw a road map for the party’s next course of action in the wake of new political situations emerging in favour of the Centre.