T T V Dhinakaran: Dwindling clout of a political heavyweight

Palaniswami and Paneerselvam joined to oust Dhinakaran and EC cancelled R K Nagar by-election

T T V Dhinakaran became an MP for the first time in 1999 and served his five-year term till 2004. He was elected from the Periyakulam constituency as a representative of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, or AIADMK. 

His lineage is important: Dhinakaran is the son of Vanithamani, the sister of Sasikala, friend and heir to Jayalalithaa’s fortune. When Sasikala befriended Jayalalithaa, all three of Vanithamani’s sons began to be seen around Jayalalithaa. They were known as the T T V brothers: Dhinakaran, Bhaskaran and Sudhakaran. Sudhakaran was the brother Jayalalithaa adopted as her foster son, whose marriage