KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- After the highly-charged Perak DAP Convention recently, Sunday's Selangor DAP polls will be keenly watched by political observers as two rival factions battle for control of the party in the state.
Over 1,000 delegates will decide the fate of the contenders led by Selangor State Executive Councillor Teresa Kok and another group headed by Selangor State Assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim.
Party sources said they were keen to see whether Kok, who is said to be backed by the state leadership and national leaders, would be able to wipe out Teng's supporters, who are mostly party veterans and those deemed "sidelined" by the national leadership.
"It will be interesting to see how many of Teng's supporters are able to be retained in the state committee. While we don't see any problem for Teng to be picked, the question is how many of his supporters will make it," said a division leader who declined to be identified.
During the state convention on Sunday, members will elect 15 people to the state committee, who in turn will elect among themselves the office bearers for the next two-year term.
At the recent Perak Convention, state deputy chairman and Ipoh Barat MP Kulasegaran was booted out from the state committee along with his supporters.
The current Selangor state committee is headed by Ean Yong Hian Wah while the deputy is Tony Pua. The vice chairmans are Kannan Thangarasu and Charles Anthony Santiago.
Party insiders said Kok's faction comprises Ean Yong, Pua, Lau Weng Sang, Tiew Way Keng, Lee Kee Hiong and Ronnie Liu while Teng's camp includes Ng Suee Lim, M. Batumalai and T. Kannan.
"Only Santiago, the Klang Member of Parliament Santiago and assemblyman and lawyer M. Manoharan and assemblywoman Hannah Yeoh are neutral. This explains why their names appear in the candidates list of both camps," a leader said.
Previously, former state organising secretary Tee Boon Hock was on Kok's group, but following his sacking from the party, his supporters, who called themselves as the Justice Reform Group, have thrown their support behind Teng.
Last month, a group aligned to Tee swept various posts during the Klang DAP divisional election as well as other division posts in the state, a clear signal that "more is in-store" during the state election this Sunday.
According to National DAP publicity chief Pua, Sunday's election would be particularly interesting as there had been an increase in the number of delegates following DAP's branches in Selangor increasing from 40 to 140 after the last general election in 2008, where the opposition pact of Parti Keadilan Rakyat-DAP-PAS took over the state government.
"In term of delegates, it has increased by more than 700, with total delegates for this Sunday's polls now reaching about 980 delegates," he said, adding that each branch would be sending seven delegates.
However, Pua, downplayed the intensity of Sunday's election, despite heavy campaigning on ground and through social networking sites such as Facebook, blogs and more traditionally, leaflets, apart from face-to-face meeting sessions through dinners.
"It's a friendly contest. It's just a continuation every two years. After that, we will work together again," he said.
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