Chennai: K A Sengottaiyan, a nine-time legislator and one-time trust campaign manager of Tamil Nadu former Chief Minister Late J Jayalalithaa, was on Friday expelled from the primary membership of the AIADMK. The expulsion order was issued by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Long Association With The Party
Sengottaiyan, who has been in the party since the days of its founding by the actor-turned-politician M G Ramachandran (MGR), was the most prominent face of the party from western Tamil Nadu, until Palaniswami shot to limelight after Jayalalithaa’s death.
Conflict Over Expelled Leaders
The soft-spoken former Minister had won eight elections from Gobichettipalayam and one from Sathyamangalam in Erode district. He had earned Palaniswami’s ire when he set a 10-day deadline for the AIADMK leadership to re-induct expelled leaders – former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam; Jayalalithaa’s former aide V K Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dhinakaran.
Unity Call Triggers Action
Palaniswami had initially stripped Sengottaiyan of all party posts. Sengottaiyan had ruffled feathers further on Thursday when he ended up meeting the three expelled leaders and reiterated his call for unity publicly at the birth anniversary of Forward Bloc leader Muthuramalinga Thevar.
A Trusted Lieutenant Of Jayalalithaa
Sengottaiyan is generally respected in the party for his seniority and loyalty in the party. In 1989 when pandemonium had prevailed in the Assembly, he had slapped then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi breaking his trademark dark glasses for allegedly provoking Jayalalithaa with a sarcastic remark.
All hell had broken loose with Jayalalithaa’s being physically targetted in the House and she vowed to return only as Chief Minister. She had fulfilled the vow in 1991 and made Sengottaiyan the Transport Minister.
From Loyal Manager To Ousted Veteran
He was her trusted campaign manager in an era where helicopter-hopping was not the norm. Sengottaiyan would prepare the route map for her campaign deciding where she would make a pit stop and where she would receive party workers. Before she hit the roads, Sengottaiyan would do a recce and ensure she has a smooth ride by filling up all potholes.
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Once Trusted, Later Dropped
Yet, he could not perpetually win her trust. In 2011 she had inducted him as Minister but after 14 months when she received a personal complaint about him, she dropped him from the Cabinet. Sengottaiyan returned as Minister only after her death.
