ALONE, BUT NOT LONELY
Why Worry About Allies? The People Are With Me, Says T T V Dhinakaran
D.Govardan@timesgroup.com
21.02.2019
The past two days saw a flurry of political activities in Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, as the AIADMK and the BJP on the one side, and the DMK-Congress combine on the other firmed up alliances for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. Amid the din, there was one question on people’s minds — where are T T V Dhinakaran and his AMMK?
He was in Salem, doing what he has been doing for the past several weeks — meeting people, as part of his exercise to reach out to the interior areas of the state by road. In the past two months, he has covered more than 60 assembly segments — from Ramanathapuram to Kancheepuram, from Trichy to Erode via Villupuram.
While other parties were stitching prospective alliances, Dhinakaran was working to connect with the people, à la Jayalalithaa and addressing large crowds. He has been highlighting specific local issues that could range from agriculture to aquaculture, industries, job creation and, above all, need for focused water management and maintenance of waterbodies and channels, which could bring down the dependency on neighbouring states for water.
But, is Dhinakaran a Jayalalithaa? “I am not Jayalalithaa or MGR. I am not even an actor like Vijay or Ajith. Still, if so many of you are coming to attend my meetings to hear me speak, it shows your believe in me as a leader, who can fulfil your aspirations and dreams,” Dhinakaran told a large crowd that had assembled to hear him at Ulundurpet recently.
Dhinakaran has kept his focus on a few things — national parties like the BJP and the Congress cannot take care of regional interests, be it Cauvery or Mekedatu or Mullaperiyar, and the present Dravidian parties are ineffective, corrupt and only fulfilling their hidden agendas. Stress on regional issues is to showcase himself as a strong people’s leader fighting for relevance in a parliamentary poll, once again taking a leaf out of Jayalalithaa’s political book.
But as of now, he and his party are alone, with no one aligning with the AMMK for the upcoming election. But, that has not deterred him from single-handedly carrying forward his party to the people. “The AIADMK-BJP alliance is anti-people. The PMK created hurdles for constructing a memorial for Amma (Jayalalithaa). But now, the PMK-AIADMK alliance will be difficult to accept for the cadres of those two parties. It is a group, with heavy stones tied to them, jumping into the well. They will lose in all 40 seats,” he said on Tuesday evening in Salem, soon after the alliance news broke. “Amma aligned only with people and not with any party, but still managed to win 37 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state. If needed, we will contest alone in all seats. With almost 95% of the AIADMK cadres with us, we will repeat it,” he said to keep his partymen upbeat.
Developments over the next couple of weeks could see disgruntled AIADMK leaders as well as smaller regional parties gravitating towards him. With the FERA trouble out of the way for at least a month, and the pressure cooker symbol likely to be given to his party, Dhinakaran could be in the limelight soon. “Ever since the AMMK was launched, Dhinakaran’s focus has been on reaching out to people. We were the only party that was allowed to enter areas affected by Cyclone Gaja for relief work,” recalls P Vetrivel, disqualified MLA from Perambur and Dhinakaran’s confidante, “Who says, we do not have allies? We are in talks, just wait and see. Despite his busy political tours across the state, Dhinakaran has been in touch with the leaders of a few parties. We will announce it at the right time,” says Vetrivel. “Till the end of this month, he will be on tour. Once alliances are finalized, he will again hit the interior roads, while leaders of other parties would have time only to zip past highways,” Vetrivel added.
In alliance or alone, Dhinakaran is on the go. More than winning, his aim will be to emerge as a strong leader and to establish the AMMK as a party with a sizeable vote base. To that extent, he could emerge as the biggest gainer in the forthcoming elections. One can safely say it is advantage TTV.
Email your feedback with name and address to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com
Why Worry About Allies? The People Are With Me, Says T T V Dhinakaran
D.Govardan@timesgroup.com
21.02.2019
The past two days saw a flurry of political activities in Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, as the AIADMK and the BJP on the one side, and the DMK-Congress combine on the other firmed up alliances for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. Amid the din, there was one question on people’s minds — where are T T V Dhinakaran and his AMMK?
He was in Salem, doing what he has been doing for the past several weeks — meeting people, as part of his exercise to reach out to the interior areas of the state by road. In the past two months, he has covered more than 60 assembly segments — from Ramanathapuram to Kancheepuram, from Trichy to Erode via Villupuram.
While other parties were stitching prospective alliances, Dhinakaran was working to connect with the people, à la Jayalalithaa and addressing large crowds. He has been highlighting specific local issues that could range from agriculture to aquaculture, industries, job creation and, above all, need for focused water management and maintenance of waterbodies and channels, which could bring down the dependency on neighbouring states for water.
But, is Dhinakaran a Jayalalithaa? “I am not Jayalalithaa or MGR. I am not even an actor like Vijay or Ajith. Still, if so many of you are coming to attend my meetings to hear me speak, it shows your believe in me as a leader, who can fulfil your aspirations and dreams,” Dhinakaran told a large crowd that had assembled to hear him at Ulundurpet recently.
Dhinakaran has kept his focus on a few things — national parties like the BJP and the Congress cannot take care of regional interests, be it Cauvery or Mekedatu or Mullaperiyar, and the present Dravidian parties are ineffective, corrupt and only fulfilling their hidden agendas. Stress on regional issues is to showcase himself as a strong people’s leader fighting for relevance in a parliamentary poll, once again taking a leaf out of Jayalalithaa’s political book.
But as of now, he and his party are alone, with no one aligning with the AMMK for the upcoming election. But, that has not deterred him from single-handedly carrying forward his party to the people. “The AIADMK-BJP alliance is anti-people. The PMK created hurdles for constructing a memorial for Amma (Jayalalithaa). But now, the PMK-AIADMK alliance will be difficult to accept for the cadres of those two parties. It is a group, with heavy stones tied to them, jumping into the well. They will lose in all 40 seats,” he said on Tuesday evening in Salem, soon after the alliance news broke. “Amma aligned only with people and not with any party, but still managed to win 37 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state. If needed, we will contest alone in all seats. With almost 95% of the AIADMK cadres with us, we will repeat it,” he said to keep his partymen upbeat.
Developments over the next couple of weeks could see disgruntled AIADMK leaders as well as smaller regional parties gravitating towards him. With the FERA trouble out of the way for at least a month, and the pressure cooker symbol likely to be given to his party, Dhinakaran could be in the limelight soon. “Ever since the AMMK was launched, Dhinakaran’s focus has been on reaching out to people. We were the only party that was allowed to enter areas affected by Cyclone Gaja for relief work,” recalls P Vetrivel, disqualified MLA from Perambur and Dhinakaran’s confidante, “Who says, we do not have allies? We are in talks, just wait and see. Despite his busy political tours across the state, Dhinakaran has been in touch with the leaders of a few parties. We will announce it at the right time,” says Vetrivel. “Till the end of this month, he will be on tour. Once alliances are finalized, he will again hit the interior roads, while leaders of other parties would have time only to zip past highways,” Vetrivel added.
In alliance or alone, Dhinakaran is on the go. More than winning, his aim will be to emerge as a strong leader and to establish the AMMK as a party with a sizeable vote base. To that extent, he could emerge as the biggest gainer in the forthcoming elections. One can safely say it is advantage TTV.
Email your feedback with name and address to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com
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