TIRUCHY :The DMK candidates from Tiruchy and Perambalur Parliamentary constituencies on Monday sought action against party cadre who had worked against them in the recently-held Lok Sabha elections.
The demand was made by the candidates during the first district meeting of the DMK functionaries after the Lok Sabha elections.
Though the district-level meeting was organised to discuss the birthday celebrations of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, the candidates and functionaries gave vent to their displeasure over the activities of some cadre as this was the first meeting held after elections.
The Tiruchy candidate, M Anbalagan, alleged that several DMK cadre were working against the party. “The anti-party cadre not only cheated the party, but also worked for the victory of the other parties,” he said.
Anbalagan appealed the district secretary, K N Nehru, to bring the matter to the notice of the party chief during the high command meeting in Chennai.
The Perambalur candidate, Seemanur Prabhu, said that even as the DMK was struggling to counter the AIADMK campaign, there were elements that were sabotaging the party chances from within.
“Wearing the party colour, some cadre standing on the way to the polling stations campaigned in favour of other party candidates, especially the IJK candidate, Panchamuthu,” he said.
In his address, K N Nehru promised the candidates to bring their grievances to the notice of party chief and asked the union secretaries to make a list of cadre who worked against the party candidates.
Recalling past events to boost the falling morale of the party workers, Nehru said, “The party was at a loss after the 1991 Assembly election when only the party chief had emerged victorious. However, in 1996, the party won 176 seats. Winning and losing are regular occurrences in politics and DMK men are seasoned enough to face whatever comes their way.”