The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) on Tuesday suspended its General Secretary D. Selvam with immediate effect just weeks ahead of the elections in the state on April 23.
The order for Selvam's dismissal, which comes from TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai, cited the former's "anti party activities" as the reason, sparking widespread speculations into the enquiry into those alleged activities that is set to follow.
"Shri. D. Selvam, S/o. Dakshinamurthy, General Secretary, TNCC is hereby suspended from the Congress Party with immediate effect for anti party activities, pending enquiry," the order said.
Beyond his role in politics, Selvam is also a prominent figure in the legal community, previously serving as the Chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from 2011 to 2016.
Selvaperunthagai's decision comes after the Congress managed to clinch a seat-sharing deal with the DMK earlier this month, following weeks of protracted negotiations and a last-minute falling out with Vijay's TVK, which will now contest the elections alone.
Despite these developments, TVK election management secretary Aadhav Arjuna recently alleged in public that the Congress's deal with the TVK had made it "weak".
"Since Congress has become nothing, that party's executives are waiting at the gate to join TVK. Many Congress executives are going to join TVK in two days," he claimed, as per a Daily Thanthi report.
These comments had an impact on Selvam because he is accused of being one of the key figures that allegedly facilitated backdoor talks with the TVK, which would strain the party's hard-earned alliance with the DMK.