Sarathkumar's followers urge him not to campaign for DPA

Chennai, Apr 3 (UNI) Even as the main Opposition DMK was grappling with the problem of rebellion by those denied party tickets to contest the May 8 Assembly elections, fans of party Rajya Sabha MP and actor Sarathkumar have taken up cudgels against the DMK leadership for not giving ''due recognition'' to him.

The All-India Sarath Kumar Fans Welfare Association, which met here under its President A N Sundaresan, had urged the actor not to campaign for the DMK-led Democratic People's Alliance (DPA) in the elections.

The fans were apparently peeved at the DMK leadership for not ''rewarding Mr Sarathkumar with a Ministerial berth at the Centre, despite his contributions to the party.'' Belonging to the dominant Nadar community, which had a strong presence in southern districts, the actor had been demanding for quite some time that the party should give due representation to the community.

The actor was nominated as Rajya Sabha MP in 2001 after he unsuccessfully contested the Tirunelveli Lok Sabha seat in 1998 elections.

The meeting of the fans club in which office-bearers from various districts of the state participated, adopted a resolution appealing to Mr Sarathkumar to respect the sentiments of the fans and refrain from campaigning for the DMK and its allies.

Though the actor had vigorously campaigned for the victory of the party during various elections, the DMK leadership continued to sideline him, they alleged.

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