Turf war in State BJP escalates

March 28, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:34 am IST - CHENNAI:

The appointment of a new joint organising secretary seems to be the result of a heightening turf war between factions in the Tamil Nadu BJP, with sources indicating that more organisational changes may be in store in the coming months.

On Tuesday, the national leadership drafted a senior RSS pracharak Kesava Vinayagam into the State BJP unit in the key post, signalling the escalation of the power tussle between factions led by Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan and those led by several other strong State leaders.

Non-cooperation

Sources in the BJP said there were complaints of non-cooperation between State BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan and organising secretary S. Mohanrajulu, who is considered close to Mr. Radhakrishnan.

Mr. Mohanrajulu has been the organising secretary since 2001 and last year was thought to be in the running for the State president’s post, which eventually went to Ms. Soundararajan.

While some in the party indicated that Mr. Mohanrajulu’s efforts to bag the State president’s post may have landed him in a difficult spot, he vehemently denied making any such move. He also dismissed reports of seeking an election ticket.

“As an organising secretary, I am not supposed to contest. I have never said that I would like to contest for any post. These are plain rumours,” he told The Hindu .

Mr. Mohanrajulu replaced senior leader L. Ganesan as the organising secretary after the latter expressed his desire to enter electoral politics. He has remained in the key post ever since.

“The organising secretary post is traditionally held by a full-time RSS pracharak who is a bachelor. The new person fulfils this criterion,” a senior leader said.

Sources indicate that more organisational changes may be in store in the coming months

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