Denying charges that he went to Varanasi to seek a Rajya Sabha seat for his son O. P. Raveendranath Kumar and that he would join the BJP and he sought the post of a governor, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam said that he had gone there as an alliance partner of the NDA. When asked about the statement of AMMK leader Thanga Tamilselvan, he said it was baseless and had no truth. The AIADMK front will win in the State hands down and Narendra Modi will form the next government at the Centre comfortably, he added. He said “I have never responded to queries from people like Thanga Tamil Selvan.... The AIADMK leader was here to introduce the party candidate for the Tirupparankundram Assembly bypoll.

Source: The Hindu April 29, 2019 19:41 UTC