No representation for Villupuram in T.N. Cabinet following Ponmudy’s resignation

K. Ponmudy
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

With the resignation of Minister for Forests and Khadi K. Ponmudy, Villupuram district will now be deprived of ministerial representation in the State Cabinet.

Mr. Ponmudy was the lone ministerial representative from Tirukkoyilur Assembly constituency in the district. The other Minister, Gingee K.S. Masthan, who was elected from Gingee and held the posts of Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare, was dropped from the Cabinet in the reshuffle held on September 29, 2024.

Mr. Masthan lost his Ministership reportedly due to ‘inefficiency’.

In the 2021 election, the DMK won four out of the seven Assembly constituencies in the district, while two went to the AIADMK and one to the PMK. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin rewarded the voters by including Mr. Ponmudy and Mr. Masthan in the Cabinet.

But four years later, both of them are out of the Cabinet and no local representatives have been chosen to replace them.

There were expectations from several corners that any one of the three sitting DMK MLAs would be inducted into the Cabinet. Although it was expected that Villupuram MLA R. Lakshmanan would be the successor of Mr. Ponmudy, it did not materialise, and ultimately, the district ended up without any representation in the Cabinet.

Though Mr. Ponmudy has made news in the past for his flippant statements and abusive language on public platforms, his recent derogatory speech against Saivities, Vaishnavites and women was the last straw.

According to a DMK functionary in Villupuram, “Though the party cadre are disappointed over lack of Ministerial representation, the Chief Minister’s decision is final. The changes will not hamper ongoing developmental works in the district.”

With no representation in the Cabinet, Villupuram is expected to get district-in charge Ministers from other districts, like Kallakurichi, which too did not get representation in the Cabinet.