Tamil Nadu: AMMK's Dhinakaran to announce alliance in February, says "will certainly win elections"

Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 15 (ANI): Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam (AMMK) General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Monday said that he will announce the details of the party's alliance on February 23 ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference in Thanjavur, Dhinakaran expressed confidence over victory in elections, saying that the AMML's alliance will win the Assembly polls. Dhinakaran called the elections a four-cornered contest.
He said, "I will definitely announce the details of our alliance on February 23. The alliance that includes the AMMK will certainly win this election. I am not saying this out of overconfidence. In the current political situation, there is a four-cornered contest. I am stating this with a full understanding of the ground realities."
After quitting the AIADMK and BJP-led NDA bloc, Dhinakaran hinted at not rejoining the alliance.
Speaking about Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagendran's statement that parties which left the NDA may rejoin it, Dhinakaran said, "That is his personal opinion. I will act based on the wishes of my party workers and office-bearers. You will understand the AMMK's stand clearly within the next one and a half months."
Invoking former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, he asked her supporters to unite under a single front.
He said, "When I said that Amma's supporters should unite under one front, I did not say that they must join a single party. Amma herself had said that only if they unite under one front can they win this Assembly election. In this Assembly election, the people will deliver the right verdict. No alliance other than the one that includes us can win. The AMMK will be part of the winning alliance."
"We will definitely announce our alliance in February. The decision of the party workers and office-bearers who have stood by me continuously for the past eight years, despite various issues, will be my decision," he added.
Addressing the Madurai Karthigai Deepam row, he criticised the DMK and INDIA bloc leaders demanding the impeachment of Justice GR Swaminathan.
He said, "In the Tirupparankundram issue, demanding the removal of a judge is not appropriate. Our objective is that no one should engage in politics that divides people in the name of God, religion, or caste. Among the people of Tamil Nadu, who live like one family--as brothers and sisters--there should be no attempt to create divisions."
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had directed that the petitioner, along with ten others, be permitted to go up to the Deepam pillar on the Thirupparankundram hilltop to light the Karthigai Deepam.
The Presiding judge, Justice GR Swaminathan, instructed state authorities to ensure that the sacred lamp was lit atop the hill; however, Tamil Nadu government officials maintained that this violated the longstanding practice of lighting the lamp at the nearby Deepa Mandapam, a ritual observed for several years. (ANI)