CHENNAI: In a significant move to give more chances to new faces and to curb concentration of power among the old guards, DMK today got an undertaking from 18 top partymen that they would not seek tickets for Assembly or Parliament polls if they were elected as district secretaries.
DMK is in the midst of holding organisational elections. Elections are on for the posts of 65 district secretaries, considered to be the power centre of the party while polls been completed for various posts, including towns, town panchayat wards and unions.
DMK also recently restructured the party apparatus by increasing the party districts from 36 to 65.
Against this background, DMK chief Karunanidhi, treasurer M K Stalin and General Secretary K Anbazhagan today got an undertaking from 18 party men.
The undertaking also mandates that they will not seek tickets for their family members as well.
"This undertaking has been taken from them so that they should not aspire for an MLA ticket, or for the post of a minister," DMK president Karunanidhi said in a statement.
However, he did not name the 18 partymen. Party sources indicated that the 18 top guns include former ministers E V Velu, Ponmudi, M R K Panneerselvam, K N Nehru, Thangan Thennasaru, I Periasamy, T M Anbarasan, former Speaker Avaduaiappan and former MLA K K S S R Ramachandran.
Referring to the adverse criticism against some district secretaries and former ministers after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, Karunanidhi subtly indicated that the present action was a follow up to it.
"We have to remove the wrong opinion that the party is in the hands of only some persons", he said.
Karunanidhi also appealed to the aspirants for party posts to work with a spirit of brotherhood and cohesion.