V K Sasikala, the ousted interim general secretary of AIADMK, has been actively seeking out her supporters from within both the AIADMK and AMMK factions. She has reportedly begun the process of distributing a form among cadre to gather data about her support base and their current affiliations within their party. It is to be noted that after being expelled from AIADMK in 2017, Sasikala subsequently announced her retirement from politics in March 2021. While her supporters remain tight-lipped regarding cadre response to the form and her plan of action, sources within AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s camp suggest there is little enthusiasm among party workers to even engage with the form. Seemingly this state of lethargy and lack of fervour is the case in the AMMK camp too.
Kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi…
The worst kept secret in Tirunelveli district’s Valliyur union might be that supporters of DMK MP S Gnanathiraviam and assembly speaker M Appavu loathe each other and function as separate factions of the party. The discord got worse recently, all thanks to the MP’s son, Xavier Selvaraja, who is the chairperson of Valliyur Panchayat Union Council. As apples don’t fall far from trees, the parliamentarian’s son seems to be an expert at unparliamentary language. However, his expertise was revealed recently in pursuit of a low-hanging fruit. Residents in Gnanathiraviam’s Avaraikulam village organised a Kabaddi tournament and invited Appavu to preside over it. Going red over this, Xavier phoned one of the organisers and lambasted him. The ‘unparliamentary’ audio has since gone viral on social media.
Wheels fall off the bus
Municipality staff recently visited the Cuddalore bus stand to raze encroachments by vendors and ensure commuters have enough space to stand under shade and escape the sun. But they were accorded a ‘heated’ welcome by DMK’s east district corporation secretary K S Raja and his supporters. Raja’s wife Sundari Raja is the town mayor. He alleged that the municipality staff failed to provide drinking water to the residents, despite CM Stalin allocating funds for it. Raja also highlighted the vendors’ concern regarding the relocation of the bus stand and their livelihoods. The staff left the scene and conveyed to their superiors that Raja obstructed their encroachment drive.
(Contributed by Kumaresan S, Thinakaran Rajamani, Bagalavan Perier B; compiled by Surya B)