PMK Leadership Struggle Moves to State Capital

Anbumani Ramadoss Seeks Change in Party Whip

Chennai: The PMK party is facing a leadership crisis. Anbumani Ramadoss, son of PMK founder S Ramadoss, has taken the issue to the state capital. He wrote to the Assembly Speaker. He wants to replace Salem (West) MLA R Arul with party MLA C Sivakumar from Mailam constituency as the party’s whip.

How the Conflict Started

• Arul is a known supporter of S Ramadoss.
• Anbumani removed Arul from the party a few days ago.
• Arul has challenged his removal. He questioned Anbumani’s letter to the Assembly Speaker.
• Arul claims that only S Ramadoss can decide to change the party whip.

Party Support

The PMK has five MLAs:

• S P Venkateshwaran (Dharmapuri)
• S Sadhasivam (Mettur)
• C Sivakumar support Anbumani
• G K Mani and Arul support S Ramadoss

MLAs supporting Anbumani met Speaker M Appavu. They handed over the letter requesting the change.

Anbumani’s Request

Anbumani’s letter stated that Arul is no longer the PMK legislative party whip. The reason given was Arul’s actions against the party. Anbumani wrote, “C Sivakumar, elected from Mailam constituency, is now the PMK whip. Please officially record this change in the legislative assembly.”

Ramadoss’s Response

Later, Arul submitted a letter to Appavu from S Ramadoss. In the letter, Ramadoss stated that Arul remains the party’s whip. Arul told reporters, “Only Ramadoss can decide on appointing or removing the party’s whip. Anbumani is now a working president.”

Assembly Speaker’s Position

When asked about the PMK groups’ requests, Appavu said, “Let’s see when the assembly meets.”

Assembly Rules and Recognition

TN Assembly Rules recognize a party with one-tenth of the total members (234) as a legislature party. A party with at least eight members is recognized as a legislature group.

“PMK doesn’t qualify as either a legislature party or a legislature group. While parties submit lists of elected MLAs as office-bearers, the assembly’s recognition is limited to only the leader of opposition, as defined by the established rules. Hence, there is no question of recognizing the whip of the PMK,” said a senior government official.