Chennai: Seeking to turn the tables on TTV Dhinakaran camp's P. Vetrivel, 5 MLAs owing allegiance to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday sought to know why the Perambur MLA kept VK Sasikala out of the campaign in the run-up to the RK Nagar by-elections.

The MLAs, led by Katturmannarkoil legislator Murugumaran, made a frontal attack on Mr Vetrivel, who had launched a blistering attack on Mr Palaniswami asking him to rein in legislators who are speaking against Mr Dhinakaran, the deputy general secretary of the AIADMK.

The legislators said late Jayalalithaa had never anointed a political successor and that they accepted Sasikala as general secretary only because of her close association with the departed leader. But, the legislators said they felt cheated when Mr Dhinakaran was appointed deputy general secretary. They suggested that Sasikala's family was being kept out of the party only because of opposition from the people and from own partymen.

"Vetrivel was in-charge of the campaign in RK Nagar and why he did not use the picture of Sasikala in the campaign materials. Who issued the campaign material? Vetrivel was the district secretary and he was responsible for all campaign material. Can he explain why Sasikala was kept out of the campaign?" Murugumaran asked.

The legislators also accused Mr Vetrivel, who is shadow boxing for Dhinakaran, of trying to ‘destroy’ AIADMK and asked him to desist from making such statements.

Mr Vetrivel had on Monday asked Mr Palaniswami not to be silent like former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao and take action against legislators and MPs who are spewing venom against Mr Dhinakaran.