Ex-chief minister's foster daughter, niece join BJP

Chennai: On a day the AIADMK celebrated its founder M G Ramachandran's 100th birth anniversary, his relatives switched camps and joined BJP. MGR's niece Leelavathy, who donated her kidney for the AIADMK leader when he was being treated at the Brooklyn Hospital in New York in 1984 and his foster daughter Geetha Madhumohan joined BJP along with a few of their relatives.
Senior leaders say this is part of a larger strategy by the BJP to chip away at the AIADMK support base.As per a directive by BJP president Amit Shah, the party's Tamil Nadu unit has launched a mission to draw AIADMK rebels into its fold. "It is only on the BJP president's directive, BJP leaders and cadres celebrated MGR's centenary across Tamil Nadu. Shah also wanted partymen to invite AIADMK cadres and leaders disgruntled with the leadership to join BJP," said a senior party leader, seeking anonymity.
BJP national general secretary P Muralidar Rao met MGR's brother Chakrapani's grandson M C R Praveen on Monday and invited him to join the party, said the BJP leader. On Tuesday, Praveen, Leelavathi and Geetha Madhumohan paid homage to MGR along with Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan and BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan and later formally joined BJP.
"Leelavathi and Praveen as well as Janaki's relatives contacted us a few days ago. Though AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala's husband M Natarajan accused us of trying to break their party, we are not interested in any such thing," Radhakrishnan told TOI.
"Along with my aunt (Leelavathi), we met the BJP leaders. On behalf of our family, I joined the party and we will be active in politics," said Praveen, son of M C Rajendran (MGR's brother M C Chakrapani's son). He said he was only six years when MGR passed away and he has fond memories of the leader playing with him.
Geetha along with her relatives said they were not happy being in AIADMK post Jayalalithaa.