For the first time in the history of Tirupur Exporters’ Association, nomination papers have been filed for all the 27 leadership posts including that of the President.

(The association leadership consists of a president, two vice-presidents, one general secretary, two joint secretaries, a treasurer and 20 executive members).

A Sakthivel, founder-President of TEA, has been holding forte since inception. He did face competition once in 2010, when former treasurer Veluswamy contested for the president post. Sakthivel managed to win and retain his leadership position. Though TEA sources believe that Sakthivel has an edge over his opponent Raja S. Shanmugham, Managing Director, Warsaw International, industry watchers say that the battle this time could be tough as compared to the 2010 election.

Uneasy calm

“There has been a sense of uneasy calm for some time now with the rival group voicing displeasure about the existing leadership and openly protesting the induction of 195 new members into the association in early July. They raised the issue with the Registrar of Societies alleging that it was in violation of the by-law,’ an office-bearer of the association said. The association obtained an interim stay from the Madras High Court against the notice forwarded by the Registrar. The dispute is pending with the court, the source said. Meanwhile, a reliable source told this correspondent that both the contestants to the top post have started to call upon members in person to seek their support.

While Sakthivel team is seeking support for continuation of the present leadership to solve the problems on hand, Shanmugam’s team is citing issues such as the forex derivative crisis and closure of dyeing units, posing a real challenge to the sector’s growth and justifying their stand for entering the contest.

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