Day of Homecomings: Vaithilingam Joins DMK, Dinakaran Back in NDA Fold

Chennai: It was a day of homecoming for two politicians – former Minister V Vaithilingam to the DMK and AMMK founder T T V Dinakaran to the NDA – on Wednesday while the confirmation of the DMK-Congress alliance and DMDK’s partnership, now possibly with the DMK-led front, hanged fire as hectic political activity continued in all camps in the run up to the Assembly elections.

Vaithilingam, who was an MLA from the AIADMK group led by O Panneerselvam, joined the DMK at Anna Arivalayam in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and other senior leaders and submitted his resignation from the Assembly. He said that he had to come back to the parent party because Panneerselvam was dithering on taking a decision relating to an alliance.

Dinakaran, who was heading the AMMK after his expulsion from the AIADMK by general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, pledged his party’s support to the NDA when he met visiting BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal at Hotel Taj Coromandel in Chennai.

Wholeheartedly welcoming him back to the NDA, Palaniswami said the move would help vanquish the ‘evil and tyrannical’ rule of DMK and to put an end to dynastic politics. In a message on X, Palaniswami gave a call for all to unite with a common agenda for people’s welfare and defeat the family rule of the DMK. The NDA would also revive the ‘glorious governance model’ of J Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu, he said.

Piyush Goyal had come down to Chennai to give a final shape to the NDA, whose party leaders would be sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at Madurantakam, where the campaign for the alliance, led by the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, would be launched.

When the DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth was not going to share the stage with Modi as it was speculated in the past, media persons asked her about it at her party office and were told that the party had not received any invitation from any of the top coalitions.

However, sources said that the DMDK was refusing to hold talks either with the AIADMK or the DMK without an assurance for an MP seat.

Another group that had not latched on to any of the coalitions is the AIADMK faction led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, though there were rumours of it being accommodated in the NDA like the AMMK. Pannerselvam’s son, O P Raveendranath, however, came over to Hotel Taj Coromandel to meet Goyal but described the meeting as personal.

With Vaithililigams migrating to the DMK, all the prominent leaders who went with Panneerselvam during the AIADMK split have left him to various parties like P H Manoj Pandian joining the DMK and J C D Prabhakar going to the fledgling TVK.