TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) in Tamil Nadu has joined hands with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri and Sankarapuram are the three seats where AIMIM will be contesting in the AMMK alliance.
In the alliance led by the AMMK, Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has been allotted three constituencies in Tamil Nadu, namely Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri and Sankarapuram,” Dhinakaran’s tweet, roughly translated from Tamil, read.
The AIMIM contested from Vaniyambadi in the 2016 Assembly elections and polled around 10,000 votes.
The electoral pact for the assembly polls was signed by T.T.V. Dhinakaran, Mohammed Rahmatullah Tayyab, AIMIM’s in-charge for Tamil Nadu, and T.S. Vakeel Ahmed, president of the state unit of the AIMIM.
The new development comes days after Dhinakaran’s aunt, the expelled All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader VK Sasikala, announced her retirement from politics, leaving Dhinakaran and the AMMK to contest the elections on their own.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the AMMK was in alliance with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) but the latter snapped ties with Dhinakaran’s party in November 2020.
“AMMK aims to establish Amma rule in this election. We are definitely going to win. The people of Tamil Nadu will vote for us, we have a strong conviction about that,” Dhinakaran told pressers.
Dhinakaran has called a mega meeting on March 12 in Chennai, which will be addressed by Owaisi as well.
AMMK was founded in 2017 by Dhinakaran, a former MP of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Dhinakaran along with Sasikala had founded the party as an affront to AIADMK, after Sasikala’s removal from the post of AIADMK general secretary.
Sources say AMMK can have an impact in more than 40 constituencies in the state in this polls. Dhinakaran’s party still has the support of several Jayalalithaa loyalists and AIADMK insiders, say sources.
According to BJP sources, the saffron party had tried to get the AMMK on board to prevent any split in the AIADMK votes. But AIADMK’s E Palaniswami was against it. According to reports, the Chief Minister was worried about a merger with Dhinakaran eventually enabling Sasikala’s return to the top of the AIADMK.
The new AMMK-AIMIM alliance can be considered a slap for the BJP.
Election to the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly will be held in a single phase on April 6 and votes will be counted on May 2.
 in Tamil Nadu has joined hands with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.){kind=link}