A 'curse' for Tamil Nadu: TTV Dhinakaran says TVK rule is a disaster, alleges 25 AIADMK MLAs lured away

TIRUPPUR: Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Friday launched one of the sharpest attacks yet on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay, describing a TVK government as a "curse" for the state and blaming the Chief Minister for the very bypoll he is now campaigning in. Addressing reporters in Dharapuram, where polling is scheduled for October 6, Dhinakaran compared the impact of a TVK government to the El Nino weather phenomenon. "Just as El Nino affects us, a TVK government under Chief Minister Vijay would be a curse for us," he said, according to news agency ANI. Dhinakaran claimed that Dharapuram had traditionally been an AIADMK stronghold and that the party had won the constituency in the Assembly election held just four months ago. The bypoll, he alleged, was necessitated by the resignation of elected representatives, and the Chief Minister was responsible for it. He demanded that the Election Commission take strict action against legislators who resign shortly after being elected, arguing that such defections were a fraud on the voter. In one of his most serious charges, Dhinakaran alleged that Vijay had secured the support of around 25 AIADMK MLAs through promises, and that it was AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami who had acted magnanimously. He also said he had visited the Governor's residence after receiving an invitation, and claimed there had been attempts to negotiate with an AMMK MLA. The AMMK chief accused Vijay of presenting himself as a "pure force" while lowering political standards through his statements and actions. He mocked the Chief Minister's campaign style, pointing to the recent roadshows and the much-photographed tractor drive, and questioned the political credentials of present-day leaders, noting that those who brought political change in Tamil Nadu in 1967 and 1977 were known to the people. The attack comes as the campaign enters its final stretch, with polling in Dharapuram and Madurantakam scheduled for October 6 and counting on October 9. The bypolls were triggered after the two sitting AIADMK legislators resigned and joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.