DMK elects senior party leaders to key positions

Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), on Wednesday elected senior leaders Durai Murugan and T R Baalu as General Secretary and Treasurer, the no. 2 and 3 in the pecking order of the 70-year-old party.

In a surprise move, the party also elevated former Union Telecom Minister A Raja and another senior leader K Ponmudi as deputy general secretaries of the party. Raja’s appointment assumes significance as it comes in the wake of criticism that the DMK was not acknowledging Dalit leaders and giving them prominence in the party.

Raja, who was exonerated by a trial court in the 2G spectrum case in 2017, has emerged as one of the key spokespersons of the party in the recent past. His recent interviews to Tamil television channels in which he tore into the BJP for using Lord Murugan for political purposes and the alleged Hindi imposition went viral.

At the General Council which went virtual for the first time, DMK President M K Stalin announced that Durai Murugan, who resigned as Treasurer, and Baalu have been elected unopposed as General Secretary and Treasurer.

Durai Murugan replaces K Anbazhagan, a fellow traveller of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who passed away on March 7, 2020, and is the fourth person in the DMK to hold the post. Anbazhagan, who was elected to the post in 1977, was the no.2 in the DMK till his last breath.

With the appointment of Raja and Ponmudi, the number of deputy general secretaries have gone up to five. At the meeting, Durai Murugan exhorted the party’s young wing to help the outfit to mount an offensive against the war that is being mounted on the DMK.

In his speech, Stalin exhorted confidence that the party will capture power in the 2021 elections but asked cadres not to be complacent. The meeting also passed resolutions on various issues, including opposing the New Education Policy (NEP).