A leader of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, the party formed by former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam TTV Dhinkaran, has said his outfit will consider merging with the ruling party depending on the results of the 18 bye-elections in the state, The New Indian Express reported on Monday.

“We, TTV Dhinakaran’s supporters, are ready to join the AIADMK if the ruling party wins the bye-elections in the 18 constituencies,” the party’s Propaganda Secretary Thanga Tamilselvan told reporters in Tirunelveli on Sunday. “However, if AMMK candidates win the seats, the AIADMK should come forward and merge with us.”

Tamilselvan is one of the 18 MLAs disqualified by the Assembly speaker for siding with Dhinakaran in September 2017. In October, the Madras High Court upheld the disqualification.

But this merger can happen only if Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami and a few others ministers accused of corruption are removed, Tamilselvan added. He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party was attempting to aid the merger of the two regional parties as it plans to ally with the ruling party for the Lok Sabha elections.

Tamilselvan said his party would not join hands with the BJP as Dhinakaran had made it clear he would only ally with secular parties, The Hindu reported. “The BJP has understood that it won’t be possible for the party to win the upcoming elections through an alliance with the present AIADMK regime as the DMK-Congress alliance is strong,” he added.