Khushbu Sundar is new spokesperson of Congress

CHENNAI: The appointment of actor-turned politician Khushbu Sundar as the national spokesperson of the Congress party on Tuesday may have raised some eyebrows in Tamil Nadu, but the state is in for more surprises in this department.

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu is looking to announce names of official spokespersons for the party. Sources aware of the development told ET that a list with the names of probable official spokespersons is already being vetted by AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa and she will release the final list of names soon.

Three of the names in the list that is being scrutinised include K Pandiarajan, Nanjil Sampath and Avadi Kumar, the source said.

On Wednesday, the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai confirmed the plan to release the names of official spokespersons. “Yes, we were told that the names of official spokespersons will be given to us but we have not received the list yet,“ said an official at the headquarters.

When contacted, K Pandiarajan, MLA and founder of Ma Foi Management Consultants, who recently defected from Vijaykanth-led DMDK to the AIADMK, said he did not want to comment on the development. A party representative who requested not to be named said: “The party workers whose names are out have informally been given approvals to speak to the media and appear on debate shows on television channels. But they have not been officially announced as spokespersons of the party,“ the party representative added.

While party sources confirmed that the rationale behind the announcement will be to ensure that there is a clear line of communication as far as the party's ideas and intentions are concerned, the job is not likely to be easy. There have been several instances when AIADMK representatives have gone on record on some issues and have faced the consequences for it. Former AIADMK MP, K Malaisamy, was sacked from party's membership a day after he said: “Modi is a great friend of Jayalalithaa, they may differ politically.If he becomes PM, then madam would like close ties“.