Even as the bigwigs of the ruling AIADMK have wholeheartedly welcomed the new regime under the new Party General Secretary V K Sasikala, who took charge on Saturday, members of the last line seem unhappy with the new leadership.

In a developing scenario, such members, mostly from the rural parts of Tamil Nadu, have even started to show open support to Deepa Jayakumar, niece of the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa.

While members of the party from other districts have shown their dissatisfaction with the party’s decision to choose Sasikala as the new Chief, more than 150 members of the party, who have unofficially split from the AIADMK, started the J Deepa Peravai (J Deepa Forum) at Kannampalayam in Sulur, Coimbatore on Sunday, a day after Sasikala took charge.

Speaking to the Covai Post, one of the members claimed that the party has caused injustice to the supporters of Jayalalithaa by choosing Sasikala as the new Chief.

“We have been telling for long that Amma was the permanent General Secretary of the party. It is not fair to make anyone sit on her chair after such claims,” said a member.

K A Kathiravel, City Secretary of Amma Peravai, claimed that more than 75 per cent of the party workers did not like Sasikala taking charge as the new Chief. “We want someone from the bloodline of Amma to be the Chief. That is why we are requesting Deepa to lead us,” he said.

He further added that even as AIADMK ministers and MLAs support Sasikala, true loyalists of Jayalalithaa would not accept the leadership of Sasikala.

“There are many dissidents in the party and they too will come out in the coming days,” said Kathiravel.

The members have erected a flex banner in support of Deepa along with the pictures of former party chiefs M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.

Meanwhile, banners carrying pictures of Sasikala were reportedly damaged in the outskirts of the city and Tirupur.