Jayalalithaa restructures AIADMK core team

AIADMK General Secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced a major rejig of key party ranks on Wednesday including the core team of headquarters functionaries.

Former minister Natham R Viswanathan received a double whammy in this post-poll restructure as he was not only relieved from the Dindigul district secretary’s post but also ceases to be member of the disciplinary committee as the panel itself was dissolved. 

Among other former ministers in the previous cabinet who could not find a place in the party ranks were P Palaniappan, P Mohan, S Gokula Indira, ‘Thoppu’ N D Venkatachalam and ‘Mukkur’ N Subramanian. Though senior leaders, C Ponnaiyan and ‘Panruti’ S Ramchandran, who were earlier part of the core team were not retained in the team, Jayalalithaa accommodated them in the team of party spokespersons. 

Former minister R Vaithilingam, who was earlier member of the now dissolved disciplinary committee has been appointed as the party’s organising secretary and spokesperson. It may be noted that he was recently elected Rajya Sabha MP. 

Sitting minister Edappadi K Palanisamy, who was also earlier member of the disciplinary committee, has been now been rewarded with the post of the party’s headquarters secretary. Jayalalithaa, described as ‘permanent General Secretary’ of AIADMK has also retained senior leaders, E Madhusoodanan as AIADMK Presidium Chairman, Finance Minister O Panneerselvam as Treasurer and Dr M Thambidurai as propaganda secretary. New elevations She also appointed newly elected Rajya Sabha MP A Vijayakumar as the party’s district secretary for Kanyakumari district, where the party suffered a rout in the assembly election. 

Though Vijayakumar replaces former minister N Thalavai Sundaram, the latter was elevated as the party’s organising secretary and will be part of AIADMK’s 38-member core team. Greater Chennai Corporation councillor M C Munusamy, Rajya Sabha MP Vijila Sathyananth and party’s IT wing secretary G Ramachandran are now part of the party’s core team. 

While Vijila Sathyananth is women’s wing secretary replacing former minister Gokula Indira, M C Munusamy is the secretary of the party’s fisheries wing. Among the new faces inducted in the list of spokespersons include Avadi MLA Ma Foi K Pandiarajan and speaker for the party headquarters Nirmala Periyasamy.