CHENNAI: As many as 13 district secretaries of the DMK — including former ministers, sitting MLAs and senior party functionaries — are set to lose their posts after party president MK Stalin unveiled a plan for the structural overhaul of the party during its executive committee meeting held on Saturday at Anna Arivalayam. The party has decided to fix strict age caps and limit the term for party posts to bring in younger faces and give new entrants greater responsibility in the party organisation.
“We are specialists in making a comeback,” Stalin said, asserting that the party would continue to work for the people even while in the opposition. The changes would be “tough and bitter” for some, but are necessary to ensure that the party remained vibrant for the next 100 years, the former CM said.
The restructuring will cover almost every level of the party organisation. Rural branch secretaries have an age cap of 45 years, while ward secretaries in corporations, municipalities and town panchayats will have an upper age limit of 50 years. In town panchayats, secretaries, area secretaries, branch secretaries and union secretaries will have an upper age limit of 60 years. All these positions will also have a two-term cap.
Expanding the district units to 110, the resolutions adopted at the meeting chaired by Stalin also provide for the reorganisation of the DMK’s district structure based on revenue districts, with one party organisational district for every two Assembly constituencies. If one more Assembly constituency remains unaccounted for after the restructuring of districts, it will be attached as the third constituency to a suitable organisational district within the same revenue district. The post of urban secretary will cease to exist under the new structure.
Addressing the meeting, Stalin acknowledged that the performance of party functionaries was among the reasons for the electoral defeat and said the party should first accept its mistakes openly. He also took a dig at the senior leaders, who failed to embrace the fellow functionaries inside the party. “My regret is that even those who are strong in ideology, principles, hard work, and fighting spirit, falter when it comes to embracing and nurturing party functionaries,” he said.
Just one strong MLA not enough to win a seat: Stalin
“There are some others, whose faces light up when they see those from the opposition, but not when they see our own party workers. They fold their hands in respect when they see opposition leaders, but do not do so when they see our own party workers,” Stalin said.
He further pointed out that a district cannot be strengthened by relying solely on a district secretary. “A party cannot be strengthened in a district by relying only on one district secretary. Similarly, having just one strong MLA is not enough to win a constituency,” Stalin added.
Senior leader and party whip in the Assembly EV Velu told reporters that they would accept the DMK leadership’s decision as it would pave the way for youngsters to rise in the party. DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is also learnt to have suggested giving 33% reservation for women inside the party.
The party has also proposed reorganising the number and size of its organisational units based on the voter strength of each area.