DMK embarrasses Owaisi; makes U-turn on Jan 6 meet invite amid alliance partners' outrage

In a U-turn on inviting AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for its January 6 meeting, DMK on Saturday said that the meet will be chaired by MK Stalin and only alliance partners will attend it. On Friday, Owaisi had agreed to participate in DMK's conference to be held in Chennai on January 6, after Mastan - DMK's secretary for Minority Welfare - met Owaisi in Hyderabad requesting him to attend this public function. The move by DMK had irked Muslim leaders within the party as well as alliance partners like IUML and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi. It also sparked off speculations of a tie-up between AIMIM and DMK, at a time when the former has announced that it will contest the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due in April-May 2021.

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In a press release, Mastan has now said that stories in media about an invite to Owaisi weren’t true. “The meeting will be chaired by our leader (MK Stalin) and attended by our alliance partners,” he mentioned. "As always, only DMK comrades are party leaders for this public meeting. Let me inform you that the news on TV that states otherwise is not true," he said.

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While the number of seats has not officially been finalised, AIMIM's Tamil Nadu unit president Vakeel Ahmed indicated that the party might field candidates in 25-30 constituencies. Considered a formidable force in Hyderabad, AIMIM has also made inroads in Maharashtra and Bihar. In the recently concluded Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election, AIMIM had the best strike rate among all other parties by winning 44 out of the 51 wards in which it fielded candidates

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Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are due during April-May 2021 and the political parties have started their campaign. While DMK's MK Stalin is eyeing becoming Chief Minister for the first time, AIADMK has arrived at reconciliation between two warring factions - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS). Incumbent E Palaniswamy has been named as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee. The BJP is yet to make a formal announcement of the alliance with AIADMK a

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