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Pre-poll exit of heavyweights upsets ruling party camp
The AIADMK and AMMK marred by factional feuds and dissent are losing their heavyweights to the rival DMK. The migration of former MLAs Senthil Balaji, Raja Kannappan and Kalairajan ahead of polls has upset the followers of MGR and Jayalalithaa in AIADMK and the rebel AMMK.
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“The AIADMK has to outperform the DMK in the bypolls and Lok Sabha elections, otherwise functionaries will migrate to the DMK and AMMK,” an upset AIADMK MLA toldDT Next.
Raja Kannappan and Senthil Balaji have common friends in AIADMK and they will continue to poach for the DMK, he said. The ministers particularly from Kongu region dominate the party matters and fail to understand the growing dissent in the party, the MLA said seeking anonymity.
In a setback to AIADMK in the upcoming bypolls in Vilathikulam constituency, former MLA GV Markandeyan, who was denied a ticket, on Tuesday, rebelled against Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. It may be noted that Markandayan, who is at loggerheads with Information and Publicity Minister Kadambur C Raju had also stepped down as party spokesperson. Markandayan had also kick-started campaign against the party leaders. “Vilathikulam has 40,000 party workers in the district and majority of them are upset with the party leadership. TTV Dhinakaran should unite with the party and take the leadership role,” said Markandayan, who is now campaigning among his party workers. The former MLA who is dejected after being denied a party ticket had also started campaigning against party convenor Panneerselvam among the Thoothukudi party workers.
The AMMK which had sacked VP Kalairarjan anticipating his move to DMK had also alerted the district secretaries to monitor those in touch with Senthil Balaji and Kalairajan. “Kalaiarajan had been a mentor for Senthil Balaji and we were expecting the former T Nagar MLA to join DMK. And for this reason, Kalairajan was sidelined in the AMMK. No poll related works were given to him for the past three months. However, AMMK is not worried about their shift of loyalty to the DMK. Party second in command P Vettrivel and Thangathamizhselvan are now assisting the poll works across the state and we have a strong leader in Dhinakaran to run the show,” an AMMK district secretary said when asked to comment about the recent poaching by the DMK.
“The confusions in the AIADMK were due to the absence of a strong leader like Amma and MGR. Amma had the capacity to make a cadre elected as MLA. She fielded Dalits in non-reserved constituencies scripting success, but now there are no strong leaders,” rued Poonga Nagar Selvam an AIADMK functionary with MGR Mandram.
Kalairajan for leader Stalin
A former AIADMK legislator and a key Dhinakaran aide in Chennai city, Kalairajan said that he had not left the AMMK due to any dispute with party deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran. “I have no differences with him (TTV). I joined the DMK purely because I accepted Stalin as my leader,” the sacked leader said
Senthil Balaji’s grouse
CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam were sacrificing the rights of the people of the state at the behest of the BJP, Senthil Balaji alleged while joining the DMK. However, he did not give any specific reason for quitting AMMK. He just said it is not in his habit to talk ill of those with whom he had worked
Kannappan’s Sivaganga struggle
The south has been the AIADMK stronghold all along, yet the party has given away four seats to the BJP, which only confirms the charge that the (AIADMK) party has become the slave of the BJP, said Kannappan, expressing his dissatisfaction over the leadership for not obliging his request for Sivaganga seat.
AIADMK candidate ‘seeks vote’ for DMK’s Kani
The time pressure and the anxiety over the poll outcome seems to be common with candidates and leaders as many of them make wrong references during the campaign speeches. The latest case in point is the former MLA P Chinnappan, the AIADMK candidate for Vilathikulam bypoll, while campaigning on Wednesday night praised Chief Minister Palaniswami and Modi and sought votes for DMK candidate Kanimozhi, saying that she has the blessings of both the leaders. Addressing a large gathering of people in front of the Vilathikulam bus stand by a slip of his tongue appealed the residents to vote for DMK’s sitting Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, fielded in Thoothukudi LS seat, instead of Tamilisai Soundararajan, BJP state unit president.
People listening to his speech were left baffled for a few minutes and Chinnappan felt embarrassed at his gaffe. He quickly corrected himself by mentioning Tamilisai’s name for whom he sought votes in the ‘Lotus’ symbol. The AIADMK had recently announced Chinnappan as a candidate for the bypoll from Vilathikulam constituency, which fell vacant after Uma Maheswari, who won in 2016, was disqualified by the Assembly Speaker. He was campaigning for his bypoll and also garnered support for alliance leader Tamilisai, BJP candidate for Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency, when the slip happened.
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