DMK functionaries have sent an unusual request to the party leadership, urging it not to replace district secretaries despite the party’s recent electoral setback. The appeal has been submitted through letters and via the party-linked platform “Udanpirappin Kural,” according to senior party sources.
The DMK, which faced the election as the ruling party, won only 59 constituencies, and M.K. Stalin reportedly lost in his own Kolathur seat. Several former allies—Congress, VCK, Muslim League, CPI and CPM—have exited the alliance and moved towards the newly formed government led by Chief Minister Vijay of the TVK, leaving the DMK politically isolated.
Senior functionaries said more than 30 district secretaries lost in the election, including 10 ministers, and that 16 former ministers were defeated overall. They alleged that district secretaries and ministers prospered during the last five years, but did not spend for the campaign, and that funds sent from the leadership for candidates were withheld.
In this context, the functionaries argued it would be wrong to replace district secretaries immediately. Instead, they want the leadership to compel those who benefited during the DMK’s tenure to spend for rebuilding the party, and only then consider appointing new office-bearers.
The request has been sent from multiple districts including Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchi and Chennai, the sources said.
