DMK protest over nominee: Chappals hurled at A Raja

Angry DMK cadres tried to block former Union minister and 2G spectrum scam accused A. Raja’s car at Kotagiri, even as a few chappals were thrown at his vehicle on Friday.

As Mr Raja arrived at Kotagiri to address a party functionaries’ meet, the internal feud in the Nilgiris unit of the DMK hit a new high in the wake of denial of party ticket to K. Ramachandran, the incumbent MLA from Coonoor. The cadres’ unruly behaviour came as a shock for Mr Raja, known to be close to the DMK’s first family and a former MP of Nilgiris. The dissidence in DMK could affect is poll prospects in the Nilgiris, considered a DMK bastion. Mr Ramachandran, who won back-to-back elections in 2006 and 2011 and was also the DMK’s district secretary in Nilgiris between 2003 and 2014, was stripped of the district secretary’s post, which was given to his archrival in the party, B.M. Mubarak, in 2015. Now, Mr Mubarak has been given a party ticket to contest the Coonoor seat, which has angered Mr Ramachandran’s supporters. He is also president of the influential Young Badagas Association here.

While Mr Ramachandran’s backers have threatened to work against the DMK and its alliance party candidates in Nilgiris, the “internal war” is heading for a new high when DMK treasurer Stalin is expected to visit the hills next week.

The meeting, attended by nearly 800 DMK workers, went off peacefully, the police added. There has been strong opposition to the nomination of Mr Mubarak, a former whip of the party in the Assembly, from the supporters of Mr Ramachandran who claimed that their leader had nurtured the constituency well.

However, the party has stuck to its decision to field Mr Mubarak ignoring the protests.