“This is our first step to victory,” said O Panneerselvam, leader of the breakaway faction of the ruling AIADMK, reacting to the decision by senior ministers and party leaders to sideline party general secretary VK Sasikala and her family members.

Both factions can now sit down for talks on reconciliation, he said addressing media persons this morning after a meeting with his supporters, including the former party presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan, PH Pandian, K Pandiarajan and Manoj Pandian. He was reacting to the announcement last night by D Jayakumar, Finance Minister, who following a meeting of over 20 members of the Cabinet said they have decided not to allow members of TTV Dinakaran, Deputy General Secretary, nephew of Sasikala, to control the AIADMK party.

OPS said the primary reason for the split, which he described as a ‘battle for justice’, was the concern that the AIADMK was falling into the clutches of Sasikala’s family. With the main concern addressed, both factions can now sit down for talks, OPS said. He did not respond to question from journalists. OPS’ reaction marks the first official indication of a thaw in the relations between the two factions in the ruling AIADMK.

Dinakaran’s stance Dinakaran, while stating he will consult with Sasikala who appointed him, told media persons that he is willing to ‘step aside’ in the interest of the party. “I am not against the merger,” he said. However, the battle is far from over.

A senior leader in the OPS faction said the removal of Sasikala as general secretary and Dinakaran as deputy general secretary will have to first happen. And the opposing faction has to agree to order a judicial probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of the former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Also, the OPS faction is keen on making him the Chief Minister. But it remains to be seen whether Edappadi K Palaniswami, the incumbent Chief Minister will concede. Palaniswami has proved his strength in the Assembly with the support of 122 members while OPS has the support of a dozen members, though he enjoys the popular support of cadres.

Bribe case Meanwhile, Dinakaran himself is under pressure from the authorities. The Delhi Police is investigating possible links to attempts to bribe the Election Commission of India to get the AIADMK’s two leaf symbol allocated to his faction. This comes close on the heels of allegations of bribing voters in the by poll to the RK Nagar constituency he was contesting. The Election Commission cancelled the by-poll a couple of days ahead of polling scheduled for April 12 after Income Tax Authorities found documentary evidence pointing to rampant disbursement of cash in the constituency.

The evidence was unearthed following searches in the premises of C Vijaya Baskar, Health Minister, and his associates. Names of half dozen other Ministers were also linked to efforts to bribe voters.

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