With the Assembly elections five months away, AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday announced an “expanded list” of office-bearers for the party headquarters.
As the party headquarters will be the hub of political activity in the months to come, she has struck a balance between veterans, loyalists and new comers, apart from giving adequate representations to each region and caste, sources say.
In the 41-member strong list, Ms. Jayalalithaa reigns at the top as she was duly elected by all the members of the party as the general secretary.
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After her, the veterans - E. Madhusudhanan, presidium chairman, and C. Ponnaiyan, organising secretary, retain their positions followed by her “trusted loyalist” O. Panneersevalm, who is the party treasurer.
Ministers Natham R. Viswanthan, R. Vaithilingam and Edapadi K. Palanisamy, who along with Mr. Panneerselvam constitute the “famous four” find themselves in the list as disciplinary committee members.
“Originally, it was a 35-member team. After the death of two members including Sulochana Sampath, the team has been expanded now,” said a senior.
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Panruti Ramachandran, who left the DMDK to join the AIADMK in February 2014, has been rehabilitated as an organising secretary. Mr. Ramachandran, who was a Minister in the DMK government switched to the AIADMK launched by M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and was a Minister in his Cabinet. In 2011 elections, he was elected form the Alandur Assembly constituency on a DMDK ticket.
Organising secretaries
Valarmathi, a first time MLA, who was elected after the resignation of Ms. Jayalalithaa from the Srirangam constituency after she was convicted by a special court in assets case, has been given importance. She will be one of the organising secretaries.
Sources say her elevation was to please Mutharayar community, a section of which in Tiruchi district was unhappy after an allegation over Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar’s remarks on the community.
J. Jeyasingh Thiyagaraj Nattarjee, Member of Parliament from Tuticorin; S. Raju from Namakkal district; MLA A. Papasundaram; Nagapattinam MP K. Gopal, have also been inducted as an organising secretaries.
Many have been dropped too. Organising secretaries P.H. Pandian and Adhi Rajaram, agricultural wing president Durai Govindarajan and party election wing secretary Pollachi V. Jayaraman have not been accommodated in the list of office-bearers this time.
Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan is the new election wing secretary and P.K.Vairamuthu MLA (Thirumayam constituency) is the new agricultural wing secretary.
“Amma has taken every possible factor into consideration including regional and caste balances. She has weighed everything including the psychology of the cadres in each district. Perhaps, Mr. Pandian and Adi Rajaram were replaced because their communities are duly represented,” said a party senior.
Among those who have been retained include Social Welfare Minister and secretary of the cultural wing B. Valarmathi, Revenue Minister and J. Jayalalithaa Peravai secretary R. B. Udhayakumar, Handlooms and Textiles Minister and secretary of party petitions committee S. Gokula Indira, secretary of MGR youth wing V. Alexander, IT wing secretary Aspire K. Swaminathan and former minister and organising secretary S. Semmalai.
This list along with others containing names of district secretaries and over one lakh office-bearers will be ratified by the party and sent to the Election Commission.