Five Big After Effects of TTV Dhinakaran’s RK Nagar Win

For one, the Sasikala family will definitely be more active – and more visible – in politics.

TTV Dhinakaran’s victory at RK Nagar projects him as a new power centre.

(Photo: PTI)

His pressure cooker has whistled out the AIADMK, DMK, BJP and others. TTV Dhinakaran’s astounding win in the RK Nagar constituency is bound to have immediate repercussions in Tamil Nadu politics.

Here our predictions:

1. TTV Becomes a Formidable Power Centre

For Tamil Nadu, which has in the last 40 years witnessed a bipolar state of affairs, with politics revolving around DMK’s Karunanidhi and AIADMK’s MGR followed by Jayalalithaa, Dhinakaran’s victory at RK Nagar projects him as a new power centre.

Despite a number of setbacks, including the conviction of his aunt Sasikala, and being named as an accused in the two leaves bribery case, the ousted AIADMK Deputy General Secretary appears to have walked past the public anger that was directed at the Mannargudi family following Jayalalithaa’s death.

What’s more is that despite his faction not being recognised as the ‘real’ AIADMK, Sunday’s electoral victory appears to have given Dhinakaran the mandate to rightfully claim Jayalalithaa’s constituency.

2. Trust in EPS-OPS Erodes Further

For the ruling party, which has been wracked by in-fighting, the embarrassing defeat to its arch-rival is likely to erode the trust in the Edappadi Palaniswami-led government. What’s also certain is that OPS’s clout within the ruling combine will be impacted, given that Madhusudhanan’s candidature was pushed by his supporters.

3. Desertions from AIADMK Begin

Riding on a wafer thin majority, the EPS government is looking at more turbulence ahead. Dhinakaran’s victory could lead to defections from the ruling camp. Although the High Court is yet to rule on the 18 disqualified MLAs (who belong to TTV’s camp), if Dhinakaran manages to bring enough MLAs to his camp, he can very well force another trust vote in the Assembly.

4. More Sasikala Family Members Will Get Into Active Politics

The Sasikala family have kept out of active politics, but they have been the most powerful backroom players, for decades. But with one person in the family getting elected to an Assembly constituency, despite all the turmoil and mistrust towards the the family, it will enthuse others to be more active. Ever since Jayalalithaa's death, various members of the family have been vocal and have spoken to the media.

5. DMK Will Try to Engineer More Divisions Within the AIADMK

The rising sun is hoping to shine again in Tamil Nadu, and Stalin will be looking at exploiting the opportunity presented by a faction-riddled AIADMK. To ensure they win in the next Assembly elections, and to destabilise the government, the DMK is likely to engineer further divisions in the rival party.

(This article was originally published in The News Minute.)

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