Chennai: House of TTV is getting leaner. The third of the dissident AIADMK legislators, S. Prabhu, called on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami here on Saturday, completing a cycle of pro-Dhinakaran MLAs deserting him after the drubbing that his Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) got in the Lok Sabha elec-tions.
The 'rebel' also met Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, who is the AIADMK coordinator while the CM is the party's joint-coordinator.
Ever since the rout suffered in the Parliament poll, the AMMK has suffered steady erosion in the rank and file, with the 'deserters' heading back to the parent party, the ruling AIADMK.
That included dissident legislators E Rathinasabapathy and V T Kalaiselvan who met CM Palaniswami some days ago, thus indicating their return to AIADMK.
Speaker P Dhanapal had ordered notices for disqualification from the Assembly to the three 'rebels' charging them with anti-party activities-they had openly supported TTV and even campaigned for him in the elections.
However, the Speaker's notices were stayed by the Supreme Court, but ultimately, CM Palaniswami had his last laugh as the TTV camp got drained out in a big way and his 'pledge' to bring down the government came to naught.
TTV's close associate Thanga Tamilselvan quit the camp to join the DMK and now only ex-MLA P Vetrivel offers any semblance of fight against the ruling party.
Though the AIADMK won only one of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as part of an alliance that included the BJP, the ruling party had bagged nine of the 22 Assembly segments where bypolls were held, ensuring it had the majority to continue in power.
As for TTV's AMMK, the party scored 'zero' in the Assembly by-polls and even its 'star' candidates Vetrivel at Perambur and Pugazhendi at Hosur failed miserably.
