He alleged that Palaniswami was proving to be a stumbling block for the growth of leaders from southern Tamil Nadu in the party: O Panneerselvam
Visiting Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, on Friday, along with a band of his supporters, Panneerselvam formally enrolled himself as a member of the party and said that he would contest the elections if the party chief gave him a ticket.
Accusing his bete noire in the AIADMK, former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanaiswami of being dictatorial in his approach and said that he was taking the party on the path of destruction, Panneerselvam praised Stalin and for his exemplary governance and said that the people were watching it.
He alleged that Palaniswami was proving to be a stumbling block for the growth of leaders from southern Tamil Nadu in the party. Along with Panneerselvam, a host of his supporters like his son and former MP O P Ravindranath also joined the DMK.
Panneerselvam’s switchover to the DMK was preceded by a few other former AIADMK leaders like Maithreyan, Anwar Rajaah, Vaithilingam, Manoj Pandian, Nilofer Kapil, Karthik Thondaman, Subbaratna, Chinnasawai and Balagangadaran joining the DMK. Many of them have already started attending party meetings and being part of the campaign launched by the DMK for the Assembly elections.
Though Panneerselvam was apparently left with no other choice after Palaniswami closed all doors on him in the AIADMK and the NDA leaders were not considerate enough to keep him in the alliance, there was some criticism of his political move.
With some alleging that Panneerselvam had called the DMK an evil force during his heydays in the AIADMK, he came out openly to deny such charges. Never had he said that the DMK was an evil force, he clarified to the media at Anna Arivalalayam.
Some critics claimed that by joining the DMK he had proved the allegation of being a DMK stooge true now. For the DMK, the migration of Panneerselvam and his band of supporters to its camp was only a logical move after the ruling party had been on an expansion spree roping in many parties into its fold, like the DMDK.
Panneerselvam’s visit to Anna Arivalayam also triggered the speculation that the next prominent visitor would be PMK founder S Ramadoss. Since his party too had split with his son Anbumani Ramadoss, spearheading the rival group, having latched on to the NDA, it is rumoured that the senior Ramadoss was expected to call on the DMK chief and work out an alliance.
With the Congress-DMK ties in doldrums, it is said that the DMK is finding a way to replenish the votes it might lose if the Congress walks out by bringing those parties into its fold. Already the DMDK has pledged its support to the alliance, adding strength to it and if the PMK, too, came in at the behest of senior Ramadoss, it would be a formidable force to take on the BJP-AIADMK combine backed by smaller parties.
