DMK rejig continues, Raja gets new post

Secretary of Salem East district Veerapandi A Raja, son of former party heavyweight Veerapandi S Arumugam, has been stripped of his responsibility and appointed secretary of the party election wing. Raja has been replaced with SR Sivalingam, who was the secretary of Salem west district. Former minister TM Selvaganapathy has been appointed in charge of Salem west district.

Likewise, former union minister of state S Gandhiselvan has been given the sack and replaced with KRN Rajeshkumar, who would head Namakkal East district henceforth. DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan made an announcement to this effect on Monday.

The organisational rejig did not surprise many DMK insiders who have been anticipating the purgation, more so after the recently concluded rural local polls in which the party bit dust in Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s native Salem and neighbouring Namakkal despite sweeping last year’s Parliamentary polls.

DMK sources privy to the rejig revealed that Stalin had contemplated even harsher punishment against Veerapandi Raja, but restricted to stripping his district secretary post owing to newly appointed principal headquarters secretary KN Nehru’s intervention. Sources in the know attributed Stalin’s anger to specific complaints from Salem against Raja, who was understood to have prevented his own party member from filing nomination for Yercaud Union chairman election despite a tie in the election (Both DMK and AIADMK had secured three seats each).

An elected woman councilor of the union was understood to have met Stalin and complained about own party men paying her to opt out of the chairman race. Stalin, who got a self goal scored by his own party men confirmed through an internal inquiry, had immediately suspended the secretary of Yercaud union and proposed the suspension of Raja, which did not happen, thanks to newly appointed principal headquarters secretary Nehru, who prevented it.

Reorganisation in Namakkal was also triggered by internal squabbles during the rural local body polls, which had prompted Stalin to crack the whip against his ardent supporter Gandhiselvan. Newly appointed Namakal district in charge Rajeshkumar would be second person from the party youth wing to be appointed district secretary.

Earlier, Stalin had trifurcated Tiruchy party district a few days ago, elevating Nehru and accommodating his favourite MLA Mahesh Poyyamozhi, another nominee of the youth wing headed by Udhayanidhi Stalin.