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Tussle in TN over who gets seat in PM cabinet, OPS & EPS support different MPs

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As Narendra Modi prepares to announce the cabinet for his second term as Prime Minister, in Tamil Nadu, hectic lobbying is underway within the AIADMK, which is eyeing a ministerial post in the Centre. While Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam is currently in the capital with his son and Theni MP Ravindranath Kumar to push for his candidature, Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisami is rooting for Rajya Sabha MP R Vaithilingam to get a cabinet post.

“We are hoping to get either one ministerial berth or two Minister of State (Mos) posts, as of now,” says a source in the AIADMK. “If we get two posts, then we can accommodate both Ravindranath and Vaithilingam. If we get a Minister post, then it will have to be Vaithilingam,” he adds.

The Chief Minister’s argument is that Vaithilingam is a senior leader with more political experience. He used to be the state Housing Minister before the 2016 assembly election and has been elected as MLA from the Orathanad constituency in 2001, 2006 and 2011. The Deputy Chief Minister meanwhile sees the ministerial post as a given considering that his son was the only AIADMK candidate to win a seat in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu.

“The party believes that Ravindranath still has time to learn but Vaithilingam has prior experience managing a ministry in the state,” says one AIADMK source. Moreover his term in the Rajya Sabha ends in 2022.

Meanwhile multiple AIADMK sources confirm that the party will keep its pre-poll promise with the PMK in mind despite the loss in Dharmapuri constituency.

“We can re-nominate three Rajya Sabha MPs when the term of current MPs come to an end. One Rajya Sabha seat will be given to PMK and Anbumani Ramadoss is likely to take it,” says the AIADMK source. For the two other seats that the party can nominate meanwhile, there are a flurry of contenders. Reports suggest that M. Thambi Durai, K.P. Munusamy, V. Maitreyan, Manoj Pandian and Gokula Indira are seeking nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

“But those who contested the Lok Sabha election will not be nominated against for Rajya Sabha,” says the AIADMK source.

Source: The News Minute