DMK strongman and a former Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, D Napoleon (51), joined the BJP on Sunday. Napoleon, whose real name is Kumaresan and who is the nephew of DMK’s Tiruchirapalli strongman KN Nehru drove down to the BJP State headquarters on Sunday morning and was welcomed to the party by BJP’s national president Amit Shah.
The move by Napoleon, a popular film actor who has considerable fan following literally shocked the DMK leadership. Napoleon, a close associate of the expelled DMK strongman MK Alagiri, has been sidelined by MK Stalin, Karunanidhi’s chosen heir. He had been denied a ticket for the 2014 lok Sabha election by Stalin, the de facto chief of the DMK.
Napoleon said he had submitted his resignation letter to party president M Karunanidhi and has written to Stalin and party’s general secretary Anbazhagan expressing his gratitude. “I have been with the DMK for the last 35 years and I had to thank the party leadership for allowing me to work in the movement. I am quitting the DMK and joining the BJP with the blessings of Alagiri,” said Napoleon.
The DMK, which has been weakened because of the sibling rivalry stands to lose a lot because of Napoleon’s decision. He commands good respect all over Tamil Nadiu because of his natural acting talent and dialogue delivery.
The last two days saw celebrities from tinsel town joining the Hindutva party. The first to cast his lot with the BJP was Gangai Amaran, a popular singer and music director. Gangai Amaran is the younger brother of music maestro Ilayaraja. Gayathri Raghuraman, a danseuse and choreographer of repute too joined the BJP on Saturday. Rajasekhar, a former secretary of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress too switched over his loyalty to the BJP. A number of activists belonging to the DMK, Congress and MDMK too joined the BJP in the presence of Amit Shah on Sunday.