Home » Tamil Nadu » Dmk Deputy General Secretary Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan Resigns From Party Retires From Active Politics

DMK deputy general secretary Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan resigns from party, retires from active politics

With her exit, Jagadeesan becomes the second deputy general secretary to quit the DMK in the last two years.

Published Sep 20, 2022 | 2:45 PM ⚊UpdatedSep 20, 2022 | 3:36 PM

Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, deputy general secretary and the senior most woman leader of the DMK, has resigned from the party. (Supplied)

DMK deputy general secretary and former Union minister Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan on Tuesday, 20 September, announced that she had resigned from the party, and also said that she was retiring from active politics.

In her letter sent from Erode, the DMK veteran stated she had tendered her resignation to party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on 29 August.

“With the immense satisfaction that our chief minister is being appreciated across the country for the good work he is doing for our state and as well as the party, based on my longstanding wish to retire from politics, I sent my letter of resignation from all the posts and the party to the DMK president on 29 August,” her letter read.

Background

Jagadeesan, who joined the DMK in 1980 after quitting the AIADMK, last stood for elections representing the party in 2021 Assembly polls from the Modakkurichi constituency in Erode, where she was defeated by the BJP’s C Saraswathy by a mere 281 votes.

After her defeat, according to sources, the seniormost woman leader of the DMK had alleged that some district functionaries spoilt her chances of being elected as an MLA from Modakkurichi. It was said that some party workers were unhappy with her candidature.

Despite taking up this issue with the leadership, she was reportedly unhappy that no action was taken on the matter. Her husband has also been, of recent, making social media posts critical of the DMK. Further, Jagadeesan’s expectations of being nominated to the Rajya Sabha also did not fructify.

Many believe she was unhappy over not being given prominence in the party due to all these reasons.

It may be noted that both Jagadeesan and her spouse stayed away from the DMK’s Mupperum Vizha celebrations last week in the Virudhunagar district, which triggered speculations about her exit from the party.

With her exit, Jagadeesan became the second deputy general secretary of the DMK to quit the party in the last two years. VP Duraisamy resigned from the post and the party in May 2020 and joined the BJP.

As far as Jagadeesan’s political career is concerned, she has served as a minister in governments headed by MG Ramachandran and M Karunanidhi in 1977-1980 and 1989-1991, respectively. She was also the Union Minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009.