CHENNAI: Raising concerns within the ruling camp, yet another MLA, VT Kalaiselvan, representing Vriddhachalam, declared support to ousted deputy general secretary of the AIADMK TTV Dhinakaran. This has taken the total number of dissenting MLAs owing allegiance to side-lined general secretary VK Sasikala and her family members including nephew Dhinakaran to 21.Speaking to the media after meeting Dhinakaran at his Adyar residence, Kalaiselvan said more MLAs would turn to Dhinakaran in the next two days. It was Sasikala who chose Edappadi K Palaniswami as the Chief Minister at Kuvathoor. “Now, he has joined hands with O Panneerselvam, who had betrayed the party and caused the freezing of Two Leaves symbol. The AIADMK cadre will not forgive those who betrayed the party,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dhinankaran continued to reshuffle party office-bearers. Last week, he removed Higher Education Minister KP Anbazhagan as Dharmapuri district secretary. Anbalagan is the fifth AIADMK minister to be stripped of party post by Dhinakaran. Few days ago, Dhinakaran removed four ministers from party posts in a bid to assert his authority in the AIADMK (Amma).
Besides, he also dropped
V Marudaraj, Dindigul district secretary and bifurcated the Dindigul district unit into two and appointed new office-bearers.Dhinakaran appointed R Thangadurai, MLA, and KP Nallasamy as secretaries of Dindigul East and West units. Reshuffling the party’s doctors wing, he relieved S Muthiah and Lok Sabha MP P Venugopal as its president and secretary respectively.Dhinakaran elevated the doctor wing’s joint secretary K Kathirkamu, MLA, presently camping at Puducherry with other MLAs supporting Dhinakaran, as president of the wing. Muthiah, an AIADMK MLA from Paramakudi, would be the medical wing secretary. All appointments were being made with the approval of AIADMK general secretary Sasikala, Dhinakaran said.