Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa has given her All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party a major pro-Dalit boost by inducting firebrand Parithi Ilamvazhuthi of the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and E Ponnusamy, a former Union Minister from the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).
A powerful minister in the erstwhile Karunanidhi ministry in Tamil Nadu, Parithi was the Dalit face of the DMK, especially in Chennai, while Ponnusamy had for long occupied that space in the Vanniyar-dominant PMK.
The duo was inducted into the party hours before Jayalalithaa left for Kodanadu, a day after the Rajya Sabha election.
The AIADMK and Jayalalithaa are hoping that by poaching these two major leaders, the opposition in the state will be weakened.
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