Chennai: Several sitting AIADMK MLAs in Greater Chennai were shocked after news broke out that their party supremo had denied 13 of them ticket for the ensuing assembly polls. According to confidential sources, the party top brass, which got information that sitting MLAs particularly those elected from areas that suffered floods were facing anti-incumbency wave, cautiously ticked them off the list. They were replaced with new and non controversial names.
“Our leader has begun cleansing operation and has focused more on southern and western suburbs of Chennai that suffered the maximum flood damage”, said an AIADMK functionary given a seat to contest in Chennai. She knows that some of the sitting MLAs have earned public wrath and are not popular among voters. They were targeted while old timers and strong hands were retained, he added.
Some of the MLAs denied tickets in Chennai include M. K. Ashok (Velachery), K. P. Kandan ( Sholinganallur), T. K. M. Chinniah (Tambaram) P. Dhansingh ( Pallavaram), Senthamizhan (Saidapet), Rajalakshmi (Mylapore) and V. P. Kalairajan ( T Nagar).
An AIADMK women councilor, elated about party giving four seats to women candidates in the city, said her leader had thwarted the plan of archrival DMK to politically score in flood-hit pockets of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
The list is fantastic and the return of heavyweights is a sign of the party’s victory in polls, she added. She also noted that seven ward councillors in Greater Chennai have got party tickets for the first time to contest in assembly polls.
