Chennai: The DMK’s decision to deny an election ticket to Vetriazhagan, the grandson of former minister and party veteran Anbazhagan, has stirred internal chatter within the party.
Anbazhagan served as the DMK’s general secretary and held key portfolios including Education and Finance, and was known as a close associate of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. After health issues, he stepped away from electoral politics.
Following Anbazhagan’s death, the party fielded Vetriazhagan from Villivakkam in the 2021 Assembly election. He won by defeating AIADMK candidate JCD Prabhakar by a margin of about 37,000 votes.
Though there were expectations that he could be inducted into the Cabinet, he was not given a ministerial berth. The report also claims that despite being an MLA for five years, he did not significantly focus on party work.
For the upcoming election, the DMK has instead allotted the Villivakkam seat to Karthik, son of Anna Nagar MLA Mohan. The denial of a ticket to Vetriazhagan has led to dissatisfaction among Anbazhagan’s supporters, the report said.
