TTV Dinakaran, the ousted leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, on Friday said the party leadership would “have to expel the 1.5 crore party cadre, leaving only five or six people in the other camp”, referring to AIADMK functionaries loyal to Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami.
He made the statement soon after the AIADMK removed 130 functionaries loyal to him from the district units in Tirupur, Pudukottai and Dharmapuri, PTI reported.
Dinakaran, who defeated the AIADMK candidate in the bye-election in Chennai’s RK Nagar Assembly constituency, took oath as a member of the Assembly on Friday. Speaker P Dhanapal administered the oath.
Later, he told reporters that the days of the Palaniswami government in Tamil Nadu were numbered. The Madras High Court, Dinakaran said, will pass its verdict by the end of January in the case against the disqualification of 18 MLAs who supported him. Then, a floor test will be held in the Assembly, IANS quoted him as saying.
“During the trial of strength, our sleeper cells will work,” Dinakaran said. “They will remain in power for a maximum of two or three months.” He claimed he represented the “real AIADMK” and the party cadre were with him and his aunt VK Sasikala.
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