Tough competition on in ruling party for three Rajya Sabha seats

The term of four Rajya Sabha members from the AIADMK will expire on July 24 and there is a strong competition within the AIADMK leaders to grab the Rajya Sabha posts.

The AIADMK, which has around 120 MLAs in the state Assembly, can elect three Rajya Sabha members and the lobbying process had set in among the AIADMK satraps.

The ruling party has signed a poll agreement with the PMK offering a Rajya Sabha seat and this would reduce the ruling party with just two seats. The grapevine from the AIADMK sources is that the BJP is also eyeing a Rajya Sabha MP from AIADMK, so that former minister Pon Radhakrishnan can be elected to Delhi. There is strong lobbying from Panneerselvam supporters seeking a minister of state post for Panneerselvam’s son Raveendranath, who won the Theni Lok Sabha seat in the just concluded polls.

According to the AIADMK party sources, the term of four AIADMK MPs — V Maithreyan, T Rathinavel, KR Arjunan and R Lakshmanan will come to end in July and all the four are seeking re-nomination. AIADMK insiders also admitted that the AIADMK leader and former deputy speaker M Thambidurai who lost the Karur seat is keen on a Rajya Sabha seat. AIADMK leaders Manoj Pandian and KP Munusamy are also in the fray and have sent feelers to the party top brass, sources said.

Meanwhile, actor Anandaraj, an AIADMK loyalist told reporters that the ruling AIADMK should cancel the pre-poll alliance agreement with the PMK promising a Rajya Sabha seat. The PMK leader S Ramadoss wants to get the Rajya Sabha seat for his son at the cost of an AIADMK MP.

The AIADMK should give the post to a trusted party worker and not to other parties, opined Anandaraj.

The total strength of MPs from Tamil Nadu is 18, including twelve from the AIADMK, four represented by the DMK and two represented by the Left parties. The term of DMK MP Kanimozhi and CPI leader D Raja also expires by July. The DMK is likely to replace Kanimozhi’s seat with MDMK leader Vaiko. A party should have at least 34 MLAs to get one Rajya Sabha seat.