Factional feuds emerge in ruling party over Lok Sabha candidate selection

At least three cases of protests and clashes between AIADMK groups have occurred in the past two days forcing the party seniors to intervene.

In a related development, Lok Sabha MP Anwar Raja said that there were some vested interests spreading rumours on social media stating that the Ramanathapuram MP was upset with the AIADMK forging an alliance with the BJP. 

It may be noted that the recent speech by Anwar Raja in Parliament targeting the BJP on Triple Talaq and anti-Tamil Nadu schemes created a flutter in the Parliament.

Anwar Raja on Tuesday told reporters that he was very much with the AIADMK leadership and denied the rumours that he was planning to leave the AIADMK and has plans to join other political parties.

On Monday, supporters of Minister MC Sampath and MLA Sathya Panneerselvam clashed in Cuddalore over an inaugural function between the two camps. Local AIADMK MP Arunmozhi Thevan brokered peace between the dissent camps during the party function. After the MP left the venue, the dissent members engaged into a brawl leaving three AIADMK workers injured.

Upset over the removal of Minister Udumalai Radhakrishnan from the party Tiruppur district secretary post, supporters of the Minister had also been thronging the party headquarters in the past two days and a few of them engaged in a verbal duel after that on Monday, when they were stopped by the party workers at the AIADMK headquarters.

The rivalry between the supporters of the party presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan and AIADMK Minister D Jayakumar had also been simmering in North Chennai yet again. A few workers have already spoken to the party district office-bearers that they would boycott the poll works if the North Chennai MP seat was allotted to outsiders.

According to the AIADMK sources, the party IT wing is as also facing factional feuds and the matter has already reached party senior C Ponnaiyan, who usually deals with the party internal matters. In case of Tiruvallur, Cuddalore and Tenkasi, the party workers are upset as the seats are to be given to alliance partners, party sources said.