The central region has gained prominence in the AIADMK’s organisational set-up with the election of two new MPs as office-bearers of the parliamentary party.
While M. Thambidurai, who won from Karur in the Lok Sabha elections, was elected as leader of the AIADMK Parliamentary Party and also as party leader in the Lok Sabha, P. Kumar, who won from Tiruchi for the second consecutive time, is the party whip in the Lok Sabha.
Both of them were among the only three sitting MPs re-nominated by the AIADMK for the 2014 elections.
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Dr. Thambidurai had served as AIADMK deputy leader in the the Lok Sabha, a Union Minister in the Vajpayee-led first NDA government and a Minister for some years in the AIADMK government of 2001-06.
The central region got another posting, with the election of T. Rathinavel, the Tiruchi Rural district secretary of the party and Rajya Sabha member, as AIADMK secretary in the Rajya Sabha.
The AIADMK won all seven seats in the central region with huge margins.
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Chief Minister Jayalalithaa herself has been elected from Srirangam.
Furthermore, the central region has seven ministers in the State Cabinet — R. Vaithilingam (Thanjavur district), C. Vijaya Baskar and N. Subramanian (both Pudukottai district), V. Senthil Balaji (Karur district), R. Kamaraj (Tiruvarur), V. Jayapal (Nagapattinam) and T. P. Poonachi (Tiruchi district).
R. Manoharan, the Government Chief Whip, was also elected to the Assembly from the central region.