Ex-AIADMK minister Vijay likely to join DMK

Vellore urban district secretary SRK Appu immediately informed party coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palanisami about Vijay’s proposed move requesting them to initiate action after verifying details through intelligence. The move reportedly followed Vijay’s candidature for the powerful Vellore district secretary posts being rebuffed with those going to Vellore Aavin chairman D Velazhagan (Rural district) and SRK Appu (Urban district).

Vijay had banked on his belonging to the town’s dominant Mudaliar community to get the post and was reportedly irked when it was offered to SRK Appu from the same community. In fact, when Appu, after his nomination went to see Vijay, he was ticked off by Vijay for accepting the post and when the talk veered around to the ensuing Assembly elections, a miffed Vijay bluntly told Appu that if the latter was offered the seat for the Vellore segment, he (Vijay) would contest as an independent.

Sources revealed that Vijay wanted to join the DMK through DMK’s Katpadi strongman Duraimurugan, but as the latter did not give him a proper reply, he was trying to establish contact with the late DMK president M Karunanidhi’s relatives in Bengaluru. Repeated efforts to contact Vijay proved abortive as calls were not answered. However, grassroot cadre were irked at Vijay’s move as former CM Jayalalithaa had made him MLA, minister and district secretary in 2011-16. Vijay had spent nearly a year in AMMK and returned to parent party.