Dhinakaran seals pact with Owaisi’s AIMIM for Tamil Nadu polls

News Network

March 8, 2021

Chennai, Mar 8: Despite the appeal from his aunt V K Sasikala asking “true loyalists” of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to work together to bring back “Amma's rule”, AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran on Monday announced that his party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), will contest the April 6 assembly polls.

Dhinakaran also sealed an alliance with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which claims to wield considerable influence in some pockets, bagging three seats. As per the agreement signed, AIMIM will contest in Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri, and Sankarapuram constituencies in an alliance with AMMK.

Speaking to reporters at the AMMK headquarters on Monday, Dhinakaran said his party-led alliance will contest all 234 constituencies in the state, promising to install “Amma's government” in Tamil Nadu. It was speculated that Dhinakaran would join the AIADMK alliance but Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami stoutly opposed the proposal moved before him by the BJP.

Dismissing as “rumours” that many of his supporters have been promised tickets by AIADMK if they jump the ship, Dhinakaran said he will contest the assembly elections from two constituencies, without giving away the names. He is currently an MLA from R K Nagar, the constituency which was represented twice by Jayalalithaa.

“The real 'dharma yutham' begins now. AMMK was established to retrieve the AIADMK and to establish the real rule of Amma (Jayalalithaa) in Tamil Nadu. We will contest all the seats,” Dhinakaran said. However, he refused to give a direct answer about Sasikala's statement about Jayalalithaa's “true loyalists”.

Sasikala had on March 3 surprised everyone by deciding to “step aside” from politics, dealing a blow to Dhinakaran and handing out a moral victory, albeit for now, to Palaniswami.

AMMK, which was brought into AIADMK by Sasikala hours before she left for Bengaluru to surrender before authorities at the Parappana Agrahara prison in February 2017, scored 5.25 per cent of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

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Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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