In what has become the first major political friction in the DMK since it came to power in Tamil Nadu last year, a senior DMK leader has quit the party and her decision to part ways with DMK has come to light on Tuesday - September 20 through her statement that she has shared days after sending a private letter to DMK Chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin that she has decided to quit the party. 

DMK's Deputy General Secretary Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan had been in limelight for the past few days over her political trajectory and over the swirling speculations that she has decided to end her association with the DMK. Being the highest-ranking woman official in the party, Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan was close to the DMK's high command and she had been a prominent political figure in Tamil Nadu. 

In recent times, she stayed away from taking part in political events and our sources said that she was appointed over not being given prominence in the party.  A native of the Erode district, Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan had contested the 2021 assembly polls in the Modakkurichi Assembly Constituency and her top contender in the poll was BJP's C Saraswathi. 

In election results, Subbulakshmi had lost the race to Saraswathi and it was reported that being DMK's Deputy General Secretary, Subbulakshmi had complained to the party's leadership that some district functionaries of the DMK destroyed her chances of victory in the polls. She was reportedly disappointed with the leadership for not taking any action against her complaint.  

Later, when the state went for Rajya Sabha polls, Subbulakshmi expected that she would win a ticket from the party to contest in the polls after losing the assembly election. However, her expectation went in vain as she was denied a ticket by the party leadership which fueled her friction and disappointment that she was getting sidelined by the party.  

Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan reduced her participation in the party's events and in an apparent display of disappointment, she had her husband had boycotted the party's 'Mupperum Vizha' that was held in Virudhunagar on September 15. Earlier, it was reported that she had already sent a letter to the DMK headquarters about her decision of quitting the party. 

While the party has denied any such letters from Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, it has now come to the revelation that she had sent a letter and she announced it in her recent statement. On Tuesday- September 20, she officially announced that she had quit DMK and that she had sent a letter regarding the same directly to MK Stalin on August 29. 

In her statement, she penned, "After my tenure as an MP came to an end in 2009, I have conveyed my decision to (the then party chief) Kalaignar to concentrate on party-related works and not to contest in the elections again. After the demise of Kalaignar, I have carried out party works with the motive of making Thalapathy (MK Stalin) the Chief Minister."

She further wrote, "After becoming the Chief Minister with the landslide victory in the 2021 assembly polls, Thalapathy has been discharging his duties as the head of the government and as the head of the party efficiently in a manner that they are appreciated by the whole country."

"It gives me full gratification and with that gratification and with a long-time desire to get retired from politics, I have sent my resignation letter to Thalapathy on August 29 notifying that I am quitting from my post and from the party", Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan added. Her statement has come a day after the party announced its 15th organisational polls and invited applications for various posts in the district units.

Our sources say that though she said she leaves the party with full gratification, she made up her mind to quit the party over her disappointment with the party's leadership and her disappointment was visible in her husband's criticism of the MK Stalin regime. In recent times, Subbulakshmi's husband Jagadeesan turned out to be a staunch critic of the government and he recently slammed the government for increasing the electricity tariff. 

It is pertinent to note that Subbulakshmi had served as the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009 and also the Tamil Nadu Minister of Textile from 1977 to 1980 and Minister of Social Welfare from 1989 to 1991. As she has relinquinshed her party role, a debate over who would succeed her has been rampant within the party. DMK has four Deputy General Secretaries and one of the chairs will be occupied by a woman and as Subbulakshmi has resigned, which woman would succeed her is a point of discussion in the party.