Tamil Nadu Assembly election: AIADMK-led NDA alone can defeat DMK, says Dhinakaran

The AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is the only combine that can defeat the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is the “evil force”, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran said on Saturday.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi after meeting Union Minister for Home Amit Shah and the BJP’s points person — Union Minister for Commerce Piyush Goyal — the AMMK leader contended that people of the State were ready to throw out the DMK regime.  “We [the NDA] are like the coalition of Pancha Pandavas (the main characters of the epic Mahabharata) who will defeat Duryodhana’s [the key antagonist of the epic] alliance,” he observed.

As in the case of Bihar, where the NDA won hands down in November last, all the constituents of the alliance in Tamil Nadu will remain united and focused to ensure that they captured power. “In that case, we will be able to secure funds from the Centre effortlessly by impressing upon Union Ministers about our case,” Mr. Dhinakaran said.

Referring to the criticism of Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin about the Delhi visits by NDA leaders, Mr Dhinakaran argued that the Chief Minister was feeling jittery about the visits as he had not “properly managed” funds devolved by the Union government. “When the election schedule has been announced, how can anyone obtain funds from the Central government for the State?” he wondered, commenting on the poser whether NDA leaders would get financial assistance from the Centre. 

Also, it would not be always possible for Mr. Shah and Mr. Goyal to visit Chennai. This was why the NDA’s leaders from Tamil Nadu had to visit New Delhi in order to hold talks on election strategy, Mr. Dhinakaran added.