S. Semmalai, a veteran legislator from Salem district and a former Minister, who joined ranks with former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in February, was surprisingly left out of the Cabinet expansion exercise following the merger of the AIADMK factions on Monday.
Apparently piqued over his exclusion, Mr. Semmalai did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Mr. Panneerselvam and K. Pandiarajan at the Raj Bhavan. Considering his seniority, there were expectations that he would be inducted into the Cabinet. Incidentally, he had convened the first district-level meeting of the AIADMK (PTA) and passed a resolution against the merger with AIADMK (Amma).
Though no explanation was forthcoming on the decision to leave him out, the message that emanated from AIADMK circles was that his rivalry with Edappadi K. Palaniswami cost him a Cabinet place. Another member of the erstwhile OPS camp who didn’t make it to the Cabinet was Srivaikuntam MLA S.P. Shunmuganathan.
