Chennai: DMK working president M.K. Stalin on Friday relinquished his much-loved post of youth wing secretary which he had been holding for about 35 years and appointed 49-year-old former minister M.P. Saminathan to the post.
Stalin, who is also the DMK treasurer, gave away the youth wing post, two days after he became the working president.
The DMK youth wing was formed in 1980 by Stalin and it took the party to the youth, when MGR's AIADMK held sway over the state, ruling the state for three consecutive terms.
The youth wing provided the space and opportunity for Stalin to learn and prove his organisational skills, besides developing his fieldwork capabilities. Stalin was holding the post even when he became the deputy Chief Minister and the party treasurer. New youth wing secretary Saminathan belongs to the Kongu region where the DMK was routed in 2016 Assembly elections.
He met the party's working president after the appointment and sought his blessings. Saminathan vowed to strengthen the party in his region. He belongs to Tirupur district, a strong hold of the AIADMK and he was a district functionary in the undivided Erode district. He contested his first election from Vellakoil in 1996 and entered the Assembly. He won from the same seat in the 2001 and 2006 Assembly polls. He was the highways minister from 2006 to 2011.
He is also the Tirupur district secretary. He was the youth wing's deputy general secretary and later was nominated as the joint secretary of the wing. DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan, who nominated the new youth wing secretary also appointed Subha. Chandrasekar as the joint secretary of the wing.
