Tirunelveli: TTV Dhinakaran's close aide and AMMK's state deputy secretary, Esakki Subbaiah, deciding to return to the AIADMK triggered speculations that the AMMK may shift its office headquarters in Chennai, as the office land and building belongs to Esakki Subbaiah's family.
The AMMK's failure to bag even a single seat in the by-elections for 22 Assembly seats, couple with its dull performance in the LS polls, resulted in the party's leaders and cadres losing faith on the party's founder, TTV Dhinakaran.
The southern districts, considered to be a stronghold of the AMMK, too slipped away from Dhinakaran's hand as right from his trusted lieutenant, Thanga Tamil Selvan, many key office-bearers jumped camp - either to the parent party AIADMK or to the DMK.
The latest member to join the list who abandoned Dhinakaran is former Law minister of Tamil Nadu, Esakki Subbaiah, who on Tuesday publicly announced his decision to re-join the AIADMK.
He was given the post of state deputy secretary of Kazhaga Amma Peravai in the AMMK and was expected to quit the party a month ago, when the entire Tirunelveli district unit including AMMK's district secretary, V Muthaiah, joined the AIADMK. But, he remained silent then.
Subbiah did not take the decision then, because the AMMK state headquarters office was functioning in his own building located at Dr Natesan Street, in Chennai, since June 2018, said one of his supporters.
It is also said that Esakki Subbaiah too had offers from the DMK and the BJP that delayed his decision.
Accepting he had invitations both from the DMK and the BJP, Esakki Subbaiah told the media at Courtallam on Tuesday, that he was never inclined to accept invitations from the DMK and the BJP.
"Having decided to quit Dhinakaran sir, I was sure of coming back to my parent party that gave me an address in politics," said Subbaiah, who also denied Dhinakaran's allegation that rural development minister S P Velumani exerted pressure on Subbaiah to re-join the AIADMK. On speculations about Dhinakaran having to shift his party headquarters, Subbaiah said, "the land and the building housing AMMK office in Chennai is owned by a company run by my son, and I hope he would take a good decision on it."
