A member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, TTV Dhinakaran is a politician and has served both in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. He created history by winning the RK Nagar by-election as an independent candidate in December 2017.

 

Earlier, he was the Treasurer of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Party (AIADMK) but was expelled from there in August 2017. In 2018, Dhinakaran launched his political party named Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK).

Born in Nagapattinam district, he is the nephew of V K Sasikala, a former politician who served as the national president of the AMMK and confidant of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

 

From 1999 to 2004, Dhinakaran represented Periyakulam, a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu as an AIADMK candidate. From 2004 till 2010, he was a Rajya Sabha member. After winning the 2017 RK Nagar by-election, Dhinakaran was reinducted into AIADMK but was expelled.

 

In 2018, Dhinakaran was arrested after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe an unidentified Election Commission official to get AIADMK's two-leaves election symbol. He was granted bail by Tees Hazari court in New Delhi, as he was no longer required for custodial interrogation and that police failed to identify the EC official meant to be bribed.

 

Presently, he is an incumbent MLA of RK Nagar, which fell vacant after the death of former CM Jayalalithaa.

 

For the ongoing Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the AMMK general secretary has filed his nomination from the Kovilpatti assembly constituency. He shifted to Kovilpatti in Tuticorin district, taking on ruling AIADMK minister Kadmabur Raju.

 

According to Dhinakaran's poll affidavit, the value of his immovable assets remained at Rs 57.44 lakh which he had declared in 2017.

 

His dues included Rs 28 lakh to the central government on account of imposition of penalty under FERA and liabilities in dispute included Rs 34.46 crore from AY 1989-96 pending before the IT Appellate Tribunal in Chennai. His liabilities were Rs 14.25 lakh.

 

The movable and immovable assets of his wife were Rs 7.66 crore and Rs 2.43 crore, respectively while her liabilities stood at Rs 5.82 crore, Dhinakaran said in the affidavit.