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OPS loyalist Selvaraj quits AIADMK, joins DMK
Selvaraj said that former chief minister and AIADMK’s interim general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) ran a ‘tsunami’ government
Former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLA Kovai Selvaraj, who recently quit the O Panneerselvam (OPS) faction, joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday.
Selvaraj, who joined the party in presence of chief minister MK Stalin said he was dissatisfied with the leadership over charges made in the justice (retired) Arumughasamy commission report on J Jayalalithaa’s death.
Selvaraj alleged that former chief minister and AIADMK’s interim general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) ran a ‘tsunami’ government.
“EPS–who prostrated and got the post– has no right to pass comments on Stalin who was elected by the people,” he said.
Alleging that the AIADMK has become a company, Selvaraj said that the AIADMK cadre should also join chief minister Stalin and safeguard the true Dravidian culture further adding that the DMK leader is correcting the wreck done by the EPS in the state. He also claimed that around 5,000 of his supporters in the AIADMK will soon join the DMK.
“I do not wish to be with AIADMK leaders who dress like priests to be with a religion-based party,” Selvaraj said of the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP.
Selvaraj said he will make Kovai (Coimbatore) a bastion of the DMK.
Coimbatore, a part of the western belt of Tamil Nadu, has traditionally backed the AIADMK. While the DMK combine swept other regions in the state, the AIADMK retained its grip over its bastion in this region from where outgoing chief minister EPS and other top ministers in his cabinet hail.
A combination of their infrastructure work and caste factor helped the party-led NDA alliance win 33 out of the 50 seats in the western region while the DMK columbine won only 17.
The DMK, which has been working to weaken the opposition here ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls, to the party, Selvaraj’s inclusion could strengthen those strategic efforts.
Reacting to his move to DMK, Ayyappan from OPS camp said Selvaraj left only for selfish reasons.
