Sidelined AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran today removed Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar as the secretary of a party forum named after J Jayalalithaa and appointed his aides to various party posts.

Dinakaran, the nephew of VK Sasikala, in a statement said Udhayakumar was being "relieved" of his role as secretary of the Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Peravai.

He replaced Udhayakumar with MLA S Mariappan Kennedy, a loyalist. MLA V V Rajan Chellappa has also been "relieved" of his duties as secretary of the party's Madurai suburban unit. Dhinakaran, who had yesteray dubbed the merger of the two factions led by Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam as "betrayal" of party general secretary Sasikala, also named Thanjavur MLA M Rengasamy as the organisation secretary.