Defection is as old as politics in Tamil Nadu, and defectors have always been duly rewarded by the political parties to which they have switched their allegiance.
In recent times, no other party has honoured defectors the way the DMK has. Last week, former AIADMK legislator Thanga Tamilselvan was appointed one of the three propaganda secretaries of the DMK. Another former AIADMK legislator, V.P. Kalairajan, was appointed the deputy secretary of the DMK’s literary wing. Their elevation has raised the question of whether the existing leading figures in the party have failed to measure up to the expectations of the leadership.
DMK treasurer Durai Murugan, however, justified the appointments, saying the talents of leaders should not be allowed to go waste just because they were outsiders.
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“The DMK is a big organisation with 65 district secretaries, hundreds of general council members, an executive committee and various wings. Accommodating a few new faces will not dilute the ideology of the party,” he said. Mr. Durai Murugan rejected the suggestion that the basic principles of the party were being sacrificed for the sake of a few newcomers.
To drive home the point that the DMK had benefitted from defectors, he said former AIADMK MLA Senthil Balaji helped the party achieve the goal of winning the Karur Assembly constituency. “His induction was appreciated by former Karur MP K.C. Palaniswami and the district secretary,” he said.
In the past, senior leaders like Nanjil Manoharan and Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan had a stint in the AIADMK during the days of MGR, before rejoining the DMK.