:The ‘rebellion’ by former Minister K.P. Munusamy has come at a time when many thought that the ruling AIADMK had successfully managed the transition following the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and the nomination of V.K. Sasikala as general secretary.
Even though Mr. Munusamy has not made any observation against Ms. Sasikala personally, the message behind his criticism [of her brother V. Divakaran] was loud and clear. This was why several ministers were immediately pressed into service to rebut Mr. Munusamy’s charge.
Once the Krishnagiri district secretary of the party, Mr. Munusamy has been a long-time member of the AIADMK. During 2011-2014, he shot to prominence and held the important portfolios of Local Administration, Water Supply and Rural Development. In the Assembly debates, he was often fielded to respond to charges of the Opposition.
His lean phase began immediately after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The AIADMK had then lost only in two out of 39 parliamentary constituencies in the State and one of them was Dharmapuri where Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK defeated the AIADMK’s nominee P.S. Mohan.
Even though Mr. Munusamy was not in charge of Dharmapuri, certain sections in the party had held him responsible for the defeat and suspected that the former Minister, who is from the Vanniyar community to which Dr. Anbumani belongs, did not give his best. Within days of the declaration of the results, Mr. Munusamy was initially given the less visible portfolio of Labour before being dropped subsequently.
In the 2016 Assembly elections, he was first chosen for the Veppannahalli constituency, considered a safe seat. But, he was shifted to Pennagaram where he had to fight against Dr. Anbumani of the PMK and the DMK’s P.N.P Inbasekaran. While the DMK won the seat, Mr. Munusamy finished third. Since then, he has been maintaining a low profile.
‘No impact in western TN’
K. P. Anbalagan, Higher Education Minister and the present secretary of the Dharmapuri district unit, asserts that Mr. Munusamy’s outburst will not create any impact in the western region, regarded as a traditional stronghold of the party.
Though some sections of the party would be appreciative of Mr. Munusamy’s objections against Mr. Divakaran, not many have come out openly, as a dominant section of office-bearers at various levels, MLAs and MPs owe their allegiance to Ms. Sasikala.
