Suspended All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Sasikala Pushpa’s husband and lawyer was attacked outside the party’s headquarters in Chennai on Wednesday. Lingeswara Thilagan and supporters of hers were at the headquarters to submit her nomination papers for the post of general secretary.
According to initial reports, the incident took place a day before the state’s ruling party will hold a general council meeting to decide the successor to late AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa. The former Tamil Nadu chief minister had died on December 5 following a cardiac arrest and a prolonged illness.
On Wednesday evening, Pushpa filed a complaint with the local police against AIADMK workers for the assault. She also said she has not seen her husband since the incident. “I have been searching for my husband since morning, he has been brutally attacked,” she told ANI.
On December 22, Pushpa had announced that she would contest for the post of AIADMK’s general secretary. The rebel MP had moved the Madras High Court on December 16 urging the judiciary to restrain the AIADMK general council from selecting Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala Natarajan for the general secretary position.
On December 15, the party spokesperson had announced Natarajan would become the new AIADMK chief. Pushpa had claimed that around 75% of the party workers were not happy with Natarajan’s elevation.
On August 1, Pushpa was expelled from AIADMK after she was involved in a scuffle with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Siva and also for indulging in “anti-party activities”.
Corrections and clarifications: This story has been edited to reflect that the MP’s husband, and not lawyer, was attacked.
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