TTV Dhinarakan off centre stage as MK Stalin-O Panneerselvam cross swords

Chennai: Sparks flew as the DMK working president MK Stalin and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam crossed swords with each other during the RK Nagar bypoll campaign. But the AIADMK (Amma) camp sees this as a deliberate ploy to keep its candidate TTV Dhinakaran off centre stage.

The AIADMK (Amma) camp sees Stalin's refusal to join debate with Dhinakaran while recognising Panneerselvam as the main opponent as strategy to keep the bypoll focus between him and Panneerselvam.

This is also being interpreted as 'political drama' to ensure no credence is given to the charge that the DMK and Panneerselvam camps are together. The choice of a virtual unknown as the DMK candidate had led to initial doubts if the DMK is letting Panneerselvam's candidate E. Madhusudhanan to tap the anti-Sasikala votes. The AIADMK (Amma) is alleging that such attacks are aimed at depicting Panneerselvam as the real opponent of the DMK, which also implies that he is the true heir to AIADMK legacy, a ploy that will earn the support of the traditional AIADMK voters for Panneerselvam in the bypoll.

AIADMK spokesperson and former minister Vaigaiselvan said "The mutual attacks of Stalin and Panneerselvam are a drama aimed at disproving our allegations that both of them are working together. The drama is aimed at creating an impression that only the DMK and Panneerselvam group are fighting the elections and our deputy general secretary Dhinakaran is not in the fray at all."

Stalin started the argument asking Panneerselvam why OPS is not speaking about the mystery behind the death of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
He alleged that OPS is refusing to speak about it even though he knows a lot about it.

OPS responded with an attack on Stalin saying the DMK leader is trying to fish in troubled waters. He also promised that he would come out with all the facts against Sasikala. Asserting that he is not at all reluctant to criticise Sasikala's actions. OPS added he had several doubts about Jayalalithaa's death like anybody else.

The mutual attacks and responses between Stalin and Panneerselvam are making it difficult for Dhinakaran to be the focus of the issues at stake in the bypoll. In his campaign, Dhinakaran tried his best to join in the debate by welcoming the demands for a CBI inquiry into Jayalalithaa's death. However, Stalin totally ignored Dhinakaran, giving an impression that sasikala's nephew is not at all in the race.