Protest in DMK over party hoppers getting plum district level postings

Chennai, Sep 30 (IANS) With the DMK announcing the results for some of the party posts, a major controversy has erupted in the party over the leadership overlooking the claims of dedicated workers and instead preferring hoppers who joined recently.

A senior leader of the ruling DMK on conditions of anonymity while speaking to IANS said, "DMK has now changed into an asylum for party hoppers who are given plum positions while sloggers for the party are totally overlooked. This will not go down well for the DMK and its leadership in the long run."

The leader said that at least 11 new district secretaries of the party had AIADMK backgrounds and many from other parties who had spent only a couple of years in the DMK were rewarded with plum positions.

Another leader of the party told IANS that the list released on Thursday by the party leadership was not an elected list and that it was a 'selected' list. He said that even after nomination papers were filed by aspirants, the party's state office-bearers, who were conducting the elections, announced the names of the district office-bearers even as the nominations were not withdrawn.

Most of the ire was directed against Thalapathy Murugesan, who was a former functionary of Vijayakanth's party DMDK and who has now become the Coimbatore South District secretary of the party. Party insiders told IANS that he joined the DMK only eleven years ago and reached the plum post because of his connection with the state leadership.

Feathers have also been ruffled after the party did not stick to the 'one man, one post' rule and many cadres feel that the state leadership had subverted the party elections.