PMK factions spar over party HQ address change

CHENNAI: A fresh round of sparring between PMK founder S Ramadoss’s loyalists and party president Anbumani Ramadoss over an alleged change of the party’s headquarters address, following the circulation of an Election Commission of India (ECI) letter.

GK Mani, the party’s honorary president and a key figure in the Ramadoss camp, alleged on Tuesday that the ECI communication dated August 30, 2025, listing the PMK’s address as no 10, Thilagar Street, T Nagar, was part of a “deliberate attempt to mislead the public.” He maintained that the party’s permanent office has always been at 63, Nattumuthu Nayakkan Street, Teynampet, and described the change as a “fraudulent one.”

Countering the charge, senior advocate K Balu of the Anbumani faction said the address shift was neither sudden nor secret. He recalled that after Anbumani Ramadoss was elected party president in 2022, the leadership had formally informed the ECI through letter no 16/2022 that the headquarters had been moved to Thilagar Street, T Nagar. “Since then, all correspondence from the EC and party membership records have reflected the new address with the consent of Ramadoss himself,” he claimed.

Balu further pointed out that Mani had, as early as March 2013, written to the ECI highlighting congestion around the Teynampet premises and recommending relocation. He argued that the Teynampet building was on rented property and had become impractical for regular party activities, leading to the eventual shift. “This is not yesterday’s development; it is a long-known and well-documented change,” he said.