DMK suspends partyman who wanted Stalin as CM aspirant

CHENNAI: Indicating a churning of sorts within the DMK, the party on Thursday suspended its organizing secretary P V Kalyanasundaram for demanding that M K Stalin be made the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2016 assembly elections. In a statement, party general secretary K Anbazhagan said, "Kalyanasundaram is suspended from all posts, including the primary membership of DMK, for anti-party activities".Party legal wing secretary R S Bharathi would replace Kalyanasundaram as organizing secretary.
Kalyanasundaram, a strong Stalin backer, tendered his resignation from all party posts on July 30 while making the demand that the DMK announce Stalin as chief ministerial candidate for the state elections. While the chorus for such a move has been growing louder, Stalin supporters are not averse to DMK chief M Karunanidhi continuing in the post of party president. The demand by the Stalin coterie comes at a time when the party has been going through an overhaul in the wake of its debacle in the May 2014 Lok Sabha elections. A section within the party, led by his older brother M K Alagiri, blamed Stalin for it, questioning his alliance strategy and choice of ‘tainted’ candidates.
Kalyanasundaram’s letter, coming as it does when sibling rivalry has erupted in the open, is intended to strengthen Stalin’s position within the party and pave the way for a smooth coronation. But, by suspending him, the DMK leadership has clearly indicated that it would not entertain such demands at this juncture. Meanwhile, Stalin on Thursday began a tour of the state in a bid to reach out to grassroots workers and rejuvenate the party for the 2016 assembly elections. The DMK treasurer, who was officially anointed by his father as his heir last year, began his tour from the temple town of Kancheepuram. Stalin exhorted cadres to exploit the social media to reach out to people and elicit their views. "The DMK needs to work towards regaining people's trust," he told cadres. "I will be available at all times to listen to your views," he said.
Kalyanasundaram’s resignation letter, which was sent to Karunanindhi and Anbazhagan, also demanded that the party chief’s daughter Kanimozhi and former Union ministers A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran remain "aloof" from the party. He demanded that those facing charges of land grabbing and disproportionate assets be stripped of all party posts. In the letter, which was released to the media on Wednesday, he suggested a few steps for strengthening the party.
"Most of the former ministers and district secretaries have been facing such cases and the party has accused the government of foisting cases on them. Kalyanasundaram’s demands are an attempt to attract attention", said a former minister, who is also a strong Stalin supporter. However, Kalyanasundaram’s letter went viral on the social media with a section of DMK cadres expressing appreciation.
When contacted DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said Kalyanasundaram had been suspended from the party as he had gone public with his resignation letter. "He should have addressed his issues with leaders first and had easy access to them," he said. This was also the reason why similar action was taken against Alagiri and former minister SMullaivendan, he said. In Kancheepuram, Stalin told cadres to acknowledge and accept the poll defeat and work towards regaining people’s trust. About 20 cadres would be selected each day for a lunch meet with Stalin. Group meetings with cadres belonging to various wings, including the youth wing, students’ wing and women’s wing, would also be organised.