DMK spreads net wide after ‘poaching’ ex-minister Vijay

It is on the grapevine that DMK has reached out to former secretary of combined Villupuram district secretary Dr Lakhshaman who has been sulking over the leadership overlooking him at the behest of local party strongman CVe Shanmugam. Negotiators authorised by the DMK high command have established contact with the former Rajya Sabha MP cum former district secretary, who had made a failed bid to secure a MLA ticket in the last Assembly by-election.

Curiously, not even local DMK men were apprised of the negotiations. DMK Villupuram district secretary K Ponmudi was ‘surprised’ by his high command secretly parleying with an erstwhile AIADMK district secretary in his home turf. Negotiations were intensified after the DMK top brass realised that Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had caught whiff of it. The DMK received a shot in the arm after Shanmugam ignored the prodding of the CM who was forced to engage a secretary of a neighboring district to convince Lakshmanan. Moreover, the DMK, has still not given up on a BJP leader from the south. A DMK insider said that the high command was regularly following up on the assurance from its Virudhunagar district secretary KKSSR Ramachandran that he would net the BJP big shot who was placated by state BJP president L Murugan.

A DMK senior who admitted to sending of feelers to rival camps said, “It is a mind game. They attempted to outscore us by luring Selvam. We are wooing to dent their confidence and establish our superiority. The job is easy for us because we are the favourites for next election.”