DMDK chief Vijayakanth on Tuesday faced a revolt in the party with 10 senior functionaries, including three MLAs and propaganda secretary, questioning his decision to align with the PWF, shortly after
DMDK chief Vijayakanth on Tuesday faced a revolt in the party with 10 senior functionaries, including three MLAs and propaganda secretary, questioning his decision to align with the PWF, shortly after which they were expelled.
“Since they violated party discipline, besmirched and brought disrepute to the the party, they are expelled from their respective posts and primary membership of the party,” Mr Vijayakanth said in a statement.
The crackdown came hours after V.C. Chandrakumar, MLA and propaganda secretary, led other party functionaries, including two other MLAs, in demanding that Mr Vijayakanth go with the DMK and questioned his decision to align with the People’s Welfare Front.
By immediately sacking them, party sources said, captain, as Mr Vijayakanth is called by his supporters, has sent a stern message that party’s official line should be toed and there was no room for dissent.
Of the expelled functionaries, Chandrakumar, also the DMDK whip in the Assembly, is the most prominent face of the party.
Claiming that the decision to align with PWF was against the wishes of 95 per cent of party workers and functionaries, they also virtually gave an ultimatum to Mr Vijayakanth to go back on his decision by noon on Wednesday and align with the DMK.
Under the DMDK-PWF poll pact reached last month, Mr Vijayakanth was declared the chief ministerial candidate and his party allotted a lion’s share of 124 of the 234 Assembly seats with the PWF getting 110. The DMK had actively wooed Mr Vijayakanth but he surprisingly chose to go with the four-party PWF comprising the MDMK led by Mr Vaiko, CPI(M), CPI and Thol Thirumavalavan-headed VCK.
Mr Chandrakumar, along with his colleague S Mohanraj — who did not side with the dissenters — had stood up for the DMDK in the Assembly taking on the numerically stronger treasury benches.
C.H. Sekar and S.R. Parthiban are the other MLAs expelled. While Mr Sekar is also the party’s Tiruvallur East district secretary, Mr Parthiban is Salem West district secretary.
