Coimbatore DMK functionaries have raised a complaint against former minister and Coimbatore South MLA Senthil Balaji, alleging that he is acting against the party leadership’s directions during the ongoing organisational restructuring.
Following the party’s Assembly election defeat, DMK has initiated structural changes from branch to district levels. In Coimbatore, the party’s district set-up has been reorganised from three districts into five, and the leadership has appointed district-wise observers to conduct field studies and submit recommendations.
For Coimbatore district, former Salem mayor Rekha Priyadarshini and former MP Parthiban have been named as observers and are currently carrying out on-ground reviews. However, Senthil Balaji’s absence from the Coimbatore district executive committee meeting held on Sunday triggered fresh discussion within the party.
Party members alleged that after winning the election, he has not visited the constituency and is seeking to keep the district under his control. They claimed he has been calling district secretaries and asking them to split branches, unions and city units to suit his preferences, even before the observers submit their report to the leadership.
Addressing the executive committee meeting, Rekha Priyadarshini said she had heard some people were suggesting the observers would merely sign where asked. She asserted that they had not come for that purpose and would speak to party workers, conduct a study and recommend only what is best for the party.
