No party’ for AIADMK wedding

CHENNAI, May 19: Even for a state where weddings are favourite platforms to make statements, this one had special significance. Political observers had been keenly watching to see who all came to bless the couple at the wedding of AIADMK deputy general secretary S Thirunavukkarasu’s niece, held in Pudukottai on Sunday.

The turnout must have been a blow to the leader. District secretaries and partymen kept away, belying AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha’s recent assurances to the disgruntled Thirunavukkarasu that he was very much welcome in the party. Only two district secretaries, Thangamuthu of Thanjavur district and Chinnasamy of Rajaji district, apparently came to the wedding. The rest, including headquarters functionaries and senior leaders, reportedly kept away at Jayalalitha’s own instructions.

A surprise exception, however, was the AIADMK supremo’s consultant and secretary, V Bhaskaran. Whether he came as Jayalalitha’s emissary or on his own was not clear.

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For Thirunavukkarasu, who has alleged sidelining and virtual ostracisation by rivals within the party, this “boycott” may be the last straw. By a strange — and Thirunavukkarasu must insist, deliberate — coincidence, the AIADMK’s headquarters secretary and a known rival, V Sathiamoorthy, also held a family function at Ramanathapuram on Sunday. His second daughter got engaged, according to sources.

Thirunavukkarasu camp members indicated to The Indian Express that battle-lines were drawn in the AIADMK and that they were just waiting for a confirmation that Jayalalitha indeed had ordered a boycott of the function in order to take “appropriate action”.