DMK using caste card to woo non-Gounder votes in west region

Instructions, party sources revealed, were given to the party functionaries from Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Dindigul and Salem during an exclusive meeting chaired by party president MK Stalin at Anna Arivalayam on Wednesday to improve its performance in the region in 2021 Assembly polls.

Despite winning almost half the seats it had contested, the DMK had lost over 50 seats to AIADMK in the western region alone, which proved to be the major factor in the party losing power in 2016. A party source privy to the meeting said the high command has instructed the officer bearers from the region to reach out to other majority communities, especially Arunthathiyar (scheduled caste) who also has sizeable presence in the Kongu region. In the same breath, DMK has advised its district secretaries to not miss any opportunity to woo Vanniyar, Naidu, Mudaliyar, Vettuva Gounder and Naatu Gounder communities, members of which have not been as adequately represented in the political landscape of the state as Vellala Gounders there. Some recent appointments made by the DMK only allude to the caste calculation of the DMK.

While recently appointed deputy general secretary ‘Anthiyur’ Selvaraj belongs to Arunthathiyar community, the party had also accommodated non-Kongu Vellala Gounders representatives in key positions too. Significant among the appointments was Namakkal district secretary (in charge) Rajesh who belongs to Naatu Gounder community. Unsurprisingly, party insiders believe the ground work by Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) was also behind DMK’s caste push in the west.

The party quadrupled its party districts in Tirupur by bi-furcating the two party districts. Secretaries K Selvaraj and MP Saminathan have been made in charge of Tirupur (city) and East districts, while L Padmanabhan and R Jayaramaksrishnan have been made in charge of newly created Tirupur north and South districts, a statement issued by DMK general secretary Duraimurugan said. The districts have been divided with two Assembly constituencies each.