CHENNAI: Upset over intra-party developments, two senior leaders from DMK and TMC shifted allegiance to the AIADMK in the presence of its general secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday.
Former opposition leader and senior TMC leader, SR Balasubramanian (77), was unhappy that party leader GK Vasan chose to align with the DMDK-PWA front, while former DMK Minister N Selvaraj made the move after being sidelined, following simmering factional feud in the Tiruchy unit. Both received the membership card from Jayalalithaa.
“Most functionaries wished to align with the AIADMK, but Vasan decided otherwise. So myself and a few other functionaries decided to join the AIADMK which has been providing good governance,” Balasubramanian told Express.
Asked about moving from a national party to a regional party, Balasubramanian said, “The TMC, too, is a regional party. While it is true that I was with the Congress for a long time, the question is no longer about regional or national. What is important is who is delivering goods to the people.”
Balasubramanian said he would campaign for the AIADMK in the Assembly election. But when asked whether he would contest in the coming election, he replied that the issue did not arise during the meeting.
A veteran leader of the Congress in Tamil Nadu, Balasubramanian was one of the seniors who joined GK Moopanar when he launched the Tamil Maanila Congress in its first avatar. He was the Union Minister of State for Personnel, and Parliament Affairs in the United Front government.
Interestingly, Balasubramanian was part of the Tamil National Party led by EVK Sampath – father of incumbent TNCC president EVKS Elangovan – for a while in the 1960s before embracing the Congress.
He was elected from Pongalur constituency twice – in 1989 and 1991. He was elected to Lok Sabha from The Nilgiris in 1996, but lost from there in the 1998 election and, later, from Coimbatore Parliamentary constituency in the 1999 election. In 2001, he was elected from Thondamuthur. When GK Vasan re-launched the TMC, Balasubramanian was among the senior leaders who backed him.
N Selvaraj, once a powerful district secretary of the DMK for Tiruchy from 1987-1993, was involved in factional squabble with the current satrap, KN Nehru. In fact, there have been rumours about this for days.
Their supporters traded charges, often publically, forcing party president M Karunanidhi to warn them to show restraint. Selvaraj contested in the 2006 Assembly election and was made the Forest Minister. This time, however, he was not given ticket.
Meanwhile, Madurai Adheenam Arunagirinatha Swamigal called on Jayalalithaa and offered to campaign for the AIADMK. Office bearers of the Dawoodi Bohra Jamaat Trust (Chennai) and Pasumpon Desiya Kazhagam leader N Jothi Muthuramalinga Thevar also called on Jayalalithaa to extend their support for the election.
