We only tried to make Thirumavalavan the Chief Minister, says Dhinakaran

T.T.V. Dhinakaran, general secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), said the AIADMK and the DMK never attempted to form a government together, and instead, efforts were made to make VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters in Sivagangai, Mr. Dhinakaran said they initiated this move because the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) did not have the support of enough MLAs.

“Speaking as someone who was part of that alliance, no effort was ever made for the AIADMK and the DMK to join hands and form a government. The TVK only had 107 MLAs. [DMK president] M.K. Stalin had made it clear that the DMK would not attempt to come to power. Therefore, we tried to form a government led by the AIADMK. At that time, I addressed [Chief Minister] Vijay and said if you were unable to form the government, please extend support so that we, the common people, could form it. However, the Left parties refused their support, stating that backing [AIADMK general secretary] Edappadi K. Palaniswami would be tantamount to supporting the BJP. Following this, all of us, including EPS [Mr. Palaniswami], made efforts to make Thirumavalavan the Chief Minister,” he said.

Mr. Dhinakaran further clarified that this initiative was not to prevent the TVK from forming the government, but rather to stop their MLAs from being poached. He asserted that the DMK and the AIADMK could never align under any circumstances.

Responding to another query, he said those grieving Mr. Palaniswami’s inability to bring the AIADMK back to power should convey their views directly to him in person rather than airing them publicly, adding that the AMMK and the AIADMK would continue working together.