Day after his brother met Sasikala, OPS expels him from AIADMK

The party order announcing the action against Raja was signed by his elder brother, Panneerselvam, who himself is said to have favoured Sasikala’s return to AIADMK at a meeting held at his home on Wednesday.

Raja, former chairman of Periyakulam municipality in Theni, has faced similar action in the past as well. He was sacked at least twice earlier — once when then party chief J Jayalalithaa was alive and in 2018 — although he was able to make a comeback on both occasions with the help of his elder brother.

At present, he is the Theni District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Aavin) chief. Raja had met Sasikala at Tiruchendur on Friday — the Sasikala camp had released photographs of their meeting.

The latest conflict within the AIADMK over whether to get back Sasikala started on Wednesday at a meeting held at Panneerselvam’s residence in Theni. A majority of party cadres present in the meeting are learnt to have demanded re-admission of Sasikala and her nephew, AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran, into the party for unity. While the party’s district leadership spoke to the media about the development — putting in a case in favour of Sasikala — and claimed that Panneerselvam had also promised to listen to their opinion, the former deputy CM himself signing the disciplinary order against his brother has surprised many.

Along with Raja, Saturday’s action is also against three other leaders, including S Murugesan, secretary of an AIADMK- affiliated literary wing. The party’s statement said that four of them acted against the objectives and policies of the party and brought disrepute by violating the party’s discipline.

A senior AIADMK leader, who was part of the previous AIADMK cabinet, said Panneerselvam is changing his stand again. “He seems confused, otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed Wednesday’s meeting (at his Theni residence),” this leader said. “Now he has signed the order against his brother. He has perhaps realised that he cannot succeed (in bringing Sasikala back to AIADMK) and that EPS (former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami) is sharpening his knife. Even if party leaders and cadres are not happy (with the present party set-up), most of them are not happy to work under Sasikala and her family either.”