Tamilselvan, a Dhinakaran loyalist till recently, is now DMK’s propaganda secretary

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Tamilselvan said he never expected that he would be elevated to a top post in such a quick time. “I am very happy. DMK is the third-largest party in the country with more than 50 years of history. I am excited that I have been appointed as the propaganda secretary for such a party alongside senior leaders like Tiruchi Siva and A. Raja. After the announcement, I met Thalapathy and thanked him for offering me this huge responsibility,” he said.

Tamilselvan, who had a stint with both AIADMK AND AMMK, also brushed aside the allegations that he was offered Theni District Secretary position. “All these are just speculations. When I joined DMK, Thalapathy Stalin didn’t promise me any position nor did I demand anything. I worked hard after joining the party; conducted a general meeting in Theni and helped the party acquire 27,000 cadres. I never expected any post in return for these things,” he said.

Commenting on the recent election results, Tamilselvan said the end is near for AMMK. “AMMK’s future is over. Prominent leaders have left the party, there is no public support and the recent election results are a testament to that. How many days can TTV Dhinakaran say that he has sleeper cells and will topple the AIADMK government any time, people are not fools. He was not able to do anything all this time, 18 MLAs lost their post due to him, that’s his only achievement,” Tamilselvan said.

I worked hard after joining the party; conducted a general meeting in Theni and helped the party acquire 27,000 cadres, Tamilselvan (left) said. (Thanga Tamilselvan/Facebook)

Tamilselvan was elected as an MLA from the Andipatti constituency thrice but got disqualified in 2017 leading to a bye-election. He also served as a Rajya Sabha MP from 2002-08. He was a close confidante of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. Following a factional rift within the AIADMK, Tamilselvan along with senior AIADMK functionaries joined the Dinakaran-led AMMK.

Tamilselvan’s relations with AMMK started deteriorating after the party drew a blank in both the bye-election and Lok Sabha elections. He fell out with Dhinakaran after a purported audio clip of him passing lewd remarks about Dhinakaran to AMMK Madurai co-ordinator Chella Pandian went viral across social media. Both the leaders retaliated to the controversy,

Dhinakaran held a press conference and accused Tamilselvan of acting against party principles and stripped of his propaganda secretary post.