CHENNAI: A day after DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin suffered a shock defeat at Kolathur, a constituency he has been representing for three terms till now, the party’s former Egmore MLA pointed fingers at minister and district secretary PK Sekarbabu for the reversal of fortunes.
I Paranthamen, who represented Egmore in the 2021-26 period, was not fielded this time, a decision that many suspected was influenced by his intra-party rival Sekarbabu. On Tuesday, a day after Assembly election results shocked the party after its leader himself lost the election – incidentally to a former DMK man who quit the party – the ex-MLA went public with a social media post.
“Victory or defeat is quite natural in electoral politics. The DMK has seen both extremes. But the party cadres will feel at peace only after stern action is taken against those who were in charge of the Kolathur constituency, which led to the electoral debacle of Chief Minister MK Stalin,” he said.
Training his guns directly on Sekarbabu, who was in charge of Kolathur constituency, Paranthamen alleged that he was the only reason for the party leader’s defeat.
“How can he stand before our leader without shame, fear, or hesitation,” he asked. Questioning Sekarbabu further, he asked, “Is this how you take care of Kolathur constituency?”