COIMBATORE : Days after actor Ranjit quit the PMK, its vice president Pongalur Era Manikandan walked out on Wednesday. His parting words were full of ominous portents for a party already reeling under attrition. Manikandan said that more cadre, apparently dissatisfied with the top brass’ decision to ally with the AIADMK, would switch camps in the coming days.
Manikandan, who announced his decision to quit the party during a press conference in the city, said that he decided to walk out before Ranjit did. However, he stayed put after S Ramadoss asked him to stay. “However, I was not satisfied with the way Ramadoss and Anbumani Ramadoss were working,” he said.
Manikandan said that after meeting the electorate in Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Dindigul, Namakkal and Karur, he found that the general perception was not in the favour of the PMK or AIADMK. He was also critical of the PMK leadership for trying to project Anbumani as an alternative to the DMK and the AIADMK, but forging an alliance with the party in power for money.
As per his assessment, neither had the stock of the AIADMK (NDA) alliance risen nor had the DMK front managed to garner support. Manikandan was of the view that people would prefer TTV Dhinakaran as an alternative. However, he was quick to add that he would not join TTV’s AMMK. Levelling allegations of PMK arm-twisting shopkeepers into parting with money whenever they conducted anti-liquor protests, Manikandan said that the PMK leaders also extorted money from IJK leader Parivendar.