TIRUNELVELI: The humiliating defeat of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) that was expected to eat into the traditional AIADMK votes and prove itself the real inheritor of Jayalalithaa's legacy, in the just concluded general elections for the Lok Sabha and bypolls for the 22 assembly segments, has shattered T T V Dhinakaran's flock in the southern districts, believed to be his stronghold otherwise.
The crack in the party came to light immediately after the election results were out, when AMMK's south zone in-charge and former MLA, R P Adhityan announced his “home coming” to AIADMK. On his return to AIADMK, R P Adhityan said that T T V camp in the southern districts would become empty within three months, as many of the functionaries were not happy about his style of functioning.
After that statement of R P Adhityan, almost all the top leaders including the Tirunelveli district secretary of AMMK, Popular Muthaiah and former Radhapuram MLA and the AMMK candidate for Tirunelveli Lok Sabha constituency, Michael Royappan rejoined, along with their supporters, the AIADMK in the presence of the AIADMK coordinator, O Panneerselvam and deputy coordinator, Edappadi K Palanisamy a couple of days ago.
“Few more functionaries of AMMK in Tirunelveli district are to rejoin AIADMK,” said Muthaiah. Moreover the former Ambasamudram AIADMK MLA and the AMMK candidate for the South Chennai Lok Sabha constituency, Esakki Subbaiah too is reportedly disappointed in the party and speculations are doing the rounds that he might join the BJP.
The crack in AMMK emerged in its Thoothukudi district unit during the election campaign. The party's Thoothukudi south district secretary, Henry Thomas was deliberately sidelined by AMMK's state organising secretary, S V S P Manicka Raja. Despite being the party's South district secretary, Henry was deliberately kept out of the election works at Ottapidaram, where the party's North district secretary, Sundararaj was contesting in the bypoll.
