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Why the DMK is training its guns at AIADMK Ministers SP Velumani and P Thangamani

The CM together with Minister Velumani and Thangamani are a threat to the party in the western region for more than one reason, says a DMK leader.

Over the last few months, the DMK  has taken a conscious decision to focus its efforts and even intensify election campaigns in western Tamil Nadu, largely considered an AIADMK bastion. From Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi beginning her campaign from the western belt in November to party chief MK Stalin initiating protests against anti-farm laws in Salem, the party has trained its focus on the region ahead of the Assembly polls.

But in addition to emphasising on its politics and presence, it has also systematically targeted some of the region’s AIADMK leaders – Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS), Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani and Electricity Minister P Thangamani. At multiple occasions both Stalin and his son and the party’s youth secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin have addressed audiences about corruption allegations against the ministers, keeping these charges at the centrepoint of their attack. In a 97-page submission by the DMK to the TN Governor regarding corruption charges against the AIADMK, both Thangamani and Velumani featured prominently after the Chief Minister.

While EPS is a natural target given that he will be the party’s CM face, the question arises over why the DMK has chosen to highlight allegations of corruption by Velumani and Thangamani. DMK sources tell TNM that the concerted efforts to ‘expose’ the two leaders, are part of an effort to gain control over the western district that could prove to be a game-changer in the upcoming elections.

Speaking to TNM regarding this strategy, senior DMK leader and Rajya Sabha MP TKS Elangovan explains that multiple factors have shaped the campaign against the ministers. “The west is now controlled by the AIADMK,” he says. “During the last Assembly Elections in 2016, we won only four seats in the west. This time we want more seats in western districts. And these AIADMK ministers from this region are holding important portfolios where they are minting money,” he adds.

Elangovan points out that the CM and the two ministers in particular are the financial force behind the AIADMK, requiring a targeted attack to highlight their faults.

“The DMK has done a lot of things for the western region but we couldn’t take it up with the people. We have given 3% reservation to the Arunthathiyars, who are a predominant section of the Scheduled Caste community in the west. Now that there are doctors and engineers from the community, they are slowly turning towards us. During the Parliament elections we had swept this region,” he says. “So, now that our base is strengthened, we want to capitalise on that. And these three ministers are going to retaliate by dumping money on that region. They rely only on money. Thangamani and Velumani in particular are planning to resort to spending money for votes. So we are targeting them,” he alleges.

Another source in the DMK points out that amongst all other leaders, the allegations of corruption against Thangamani and Velumani are most provable.

Political analyst and senior journalist, ‘Tharasu’ Shyam, further explains that in addition to being the financial arm of the party, both Thangamani and Velumani possess the CM’s confidence and a connection with New Delhi.

“Both these leaders are key masters of the party. By this, I mean that they may not be in the forefront but they have the power to lock and unlock doors or opportunities within the party,” he states. “EPS relies on these two leaders and trusts them. In addition to this they form the link between the CM and the Union government. They play a crucial role in the party and targeting them is like attacking the very centre of money and power in the party,” he adds.

Shyam further points out that with the Pollachi sexual abuse case flaring up and farmers from the region siding with the DMK, the opposition party will look to further increase angst against the AIADMK in the region to increase its vote base.

When TNM contacted a source in the AIADMK, however, he dismissed the DMK’s claim of the attacks being a well thought-out strategy. “It seems more like a personal war of words between Stalin, Udhayanidhi and Velumani. Both Stalin and Velumani go overboard while criticising each other and it gets personal,” he says. “I don’t think it is a well thought out strategy,” he claims.

Source: The News Minute