Chennai (The Hawk): In anticipation of the Jayanti celebrations of Muthumaralinga Thevar, the respected head of the Thevar community, approximately 10,000 policemen under the command of top police officers were deployed on Sunday in five districts.
On Sunday, the festivities were taking place in the village of Pasumpon in the Ramanathapuram district.
In the districts of Ramanathapuram, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar, and Sivaganga, where the influential Thevar community is highly concentrated, police officers are on duty.
As there is a perception in the community that the towering leaders of the community, which has historically supported the AIADMK, have been reduced to size in the party, the power struggle within the AIADMK will also be represented during the celebrations. Former AIADMK leader and Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam will pay his respects in Pasumpon Village, while Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the party's acting general secretary, would do so in Chennai.
The insult directed at Panneerselvam after his expulsion from the party at its general council meeting on July 11 was not taken lightly by the Thevar community.
The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary, TTV Dhinakaran, and her nephew, V.K. Sasikala, the former interim general secretary of the AIADMK, were also anticipated in Pasumpon village. According to Thevar insiders, the Muthuramalinga Thevar's jayanti celebrations will be a demonstration of the community's resolve to the political establishment.
Thevar Jayanti celebrations will bring together almost all senior DMK, AIADMK, BJP, and Congress leaders. This is because the community in the five southern Tamil Nadu districts wields significant influence, and it is crucial in electoral politics to be on the right side of strong community leadership.
Asra Garg, the South Zone Inspector General, will be in charge of the 34 SPs and four DIGs who will be deployed across the five districts. In order to control the crowds, 95 CCTV cameras have been placed around the districts, and 14 drones have also been used.
A medical situation will prevent Chief Minister M.K. Stalin from attending the festivities, although top DMK official and water works minister S. The security-related matters will be under Duraimurugan's control. P.T.R. Thiagarajan, K.N. Nehru, and I, ministers. There will also be Periyasamy.
(Inputs from Agencies)