COIMBATORE: The AIADMK's decision to oust the key aides of T T V Dhinakaran from party posts was taken to prevent other party workers from joining the rebel leader, following his victory in the RK Nagar bypoll, one of his loyalists claimed today.
The bypoll results had proved that Dhinakaran was the most eligible person to lead the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, said Va Pugazhenthi, who was "removed" as the secretary of the AIADMK's Karnataka unit.
Many in Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's camp and those sitting on the fence were ready to rally behind Dhinakaran, he told reporters here.
The step taken by the party against the TTV loyalists was only to prevent the party workers from switching sides, Pugazhenthi said.
He added that he was appointed the secretary of the party's Karnataka unit by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and that nobody had the right to sack him.
The DMK would have won the bypoll if Dhinakaran had not contested, Pugazhenthi claimed.
Following the bypoll defeat at the hands of Dhinakaran, the AIADMK had yesterday axed nine associates of the rebel leader. It had also warned of action against those who "betrayed" the party.