The move came after R Mahendran, former vice president of MNM who quit the party after a fallout with its chief Kamal Hassan, joined the DMK on Thursday.
Former Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader and YouTuber Padma Priya and ex-AIADMK Rajya Sabha member Vijila Sathyanath joined the DMK in the presence of its leader MK Stalin in Chennai on July 8, Thursday. Padma Priya had contested from Maduravoyal constituency in the recent polls. R Mahendran, former vice president of MNM who quit the party after a fallout with its chief Kamal Hassan joining the DMK on Thursday, is said to have brought 78 members from different parties along with him.
Stalin addressing the newly joined functionaries said that if Mahendran had joined before the Assembly election, DMK would have won with a huge majority in Coimbatore and Kongu region. Stalin added, “Although we were able to win the Assembly election and formed a government, I still worry about our performance in the Kongu region. Nevertheless, as Mahendran has joined us now, we will be able to perform better in the region.”
As per reports, Mahendran presented DMK leader MK Stalin with a member booklet of 11,000 functionaries who will also be joining DMK. “Owing to COVID-19 protocols, an initial group of 78 members will join the DMK on Thursday. However the details including the name, constituencies, previous political parties and contact numbers of all 11,000 functionaries will be handed over to DMK president MK Stalin,” said the press note released by Mahendran.
Mahendran who was a key member of MNM, contested from Singanallur constituency during the Assembly election. However, following the MNM’s humiliating defeat in the elections, Mahendran on May 6, tendered his resignation alleging that Kamal Hassan was being swayed by outsiders. In the resignation letter, Mahendran claimed that ‘outside forces’ are manipulating Kamal Hassan and are employing authoritarian techniques to get their job done.
In his resignation letter, Mahendran also claimed that MNM’s style of operation was non-democratic and took issue with Kamal roping in Sankhya solution to handle MNM’s campaign for the 2021 elections. “Sankhya’s head and your key advisor did not boast of any political experience, knowledge or ability,” he wrote. Mahendran also alleged that Sankhya Solutions wasted six months before the election, without getting the party campaign ready. He also added that hiring the agency caused financial burden to MNM.
On the other hand, CK Kumaravel, who was also a former MNM member, met Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman. Kumaravel met Seeman on Wednesday and shared a picture on Twitter and wrote,”Such a pleasure talking to Seeman about politics. You can like him, you can hate him, but you can’t miss him.”
“With close to 7% vote share in 2021 Assembly elections, NTK has not only become the third largest party in TN but also is a significant player whom you can’t ignore,” tweeted Kumaravel.
Source: The News Minute