Prominent dissidents left out of AIADMK’s bypoll campaign programmes

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The AIADMK has left out prominent dissident-Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA), S.P. Velumani, C.Ve. Shanmugam and Natham R. Viswanathan, in its official programmes of by-poll campaign in Madurantakam and Dharapuram assembly constituencies.

There are 13 sitting legislators including general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami who have figured in the list of star campaigners. The purpose of the party providing its list to the election authorities is to ensure that expenses borne on account of the travel of the campaigners are not considered for calculating election expenses of the party’s candidates.

Former Minister of Power, Mr Thangamani, also a key figure in the dissidents‘ camp, has also been excluded in the list. So are his colleagues K.P. Anbalagan, P. Balakrishna Reddy and K.C. Veeramani. However, R. Kamaraj, who represents Nannilam in the Assembly, and G. Hari (Tirutanni) , are back in the good books of the party establishment, though they were also in the rebels’ camp at one point of time.

But, Mr Thangamani, breaking ranks with his rebel-colleagues, participated in the protest in Salem about a month ago. The stir was held as part of the party’s State-wide demonstrations on a host of issues concerning farmers including the Cauvery. The former Minister, who lost in in his traditional seat of Kumarapalayam in the Assembly election during April-May, had even told the agitators that Mr. Palaniswami would soon become the Chief Minister again. In the party’s agitation last month, Mr Viswanathan, Mr Velumani and Mr Anbalagan skipped the events despite being named to lead the stir in different places. However, Mr Reddy and Mr Veeramani took part in the programme.

The friction began in the party four months ago following the action of 25 legislators voting in favour of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government in the Assembly during the trust motion.. This led to Mr Palaniswami sacking 26 district secretaries, many of whom are now part of the dissidents’ camp. Some others had joined the TVK. In fact, this process of churning in the Dravidian major has necessitated the by-elections, as the TVK’s nominees, Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama, were originally from the AIADMK, and, after supporting the TVK regime, they joined the ruling party. After removing several of the dissidents from the powerful position of district secretaries, Mr Palaniswami had offered them alternative positions such as deputy general secretary to Mr Velumani and Mr Viswanathan and organisation secretary to many others. But, most of the dissidents did not accept the offer. They also did not take part in the consultations chaired by Mr Palaniswami to review the party’s performance in the Assembly polls.

Among those who made it to the list are deputy general secretary K.P. Munusamy, treasurer Dindigul C. Sreenivasan, propaganda secretary M. Thambi Durai and Nagapattinam district secretary O.S.