MIC President Dr S Subramaniam said last month it had offered an olive branch to those who left on a bitter note in a party presidency struggle last year.
Saying MIC was “quite open” to unite with its former foes, the health minister said “some” had already declared their allegiance to the current leadership.
“We have started the process to take them back, we are very willing.
“I think in Penang we have 20-odd branches that have returned. Everyone has indicated their full support for the party,” he told reporters after opening the Penang MIC’s 70th anniversary celebrations here last night.
Dr Subramaniam said with that good news, the party was also keen to wrest back the Prai and Bagan Dalam state seats. He said it was confident of winning the latter.
“To ensure the win, we are looking to connect with voters and solidify relationships to ensure a big win.
“We also view grassroots Indian support as key to strengthen the party.
“We will focus on this and implement a process to get close to voters. In grassroots, we have faith,” he added.
Currently, both the Bagan Dalam and Prai seats are held by the DAP.
Meanwhile, Dr Subramaniam also revealed it was in early talks with its Barisan Nasional comrades on possible seat swap arrangements.
Saying it would be a compromise, he felt that it would be a win-win situation if parties within BN swapped seats for an optimal win.
“We are studying that possibility, but we cannot say anything for certain.” Dr Subramaniam said.
In what was described as a tumultuous chapter in the party, embattled former president G Palanivel and Subramaniam crossed swords over re-election of its top office bearers.
It erupted after the Registrar of Societies (RoS) issued a notice on Dec 5, 2014, directing the party to hold re-elections for the three vice-presidential and 23 Cental Working Committee (CWC) posts. RoS felt the re-elections were necessary after detecting irregularities with the earlier election.
Palanivel, however, refused to hold re-elections. He claimed there were plans by certain personalities within the party to oust him.
At this juncture, the party split to two camps, with virtually all state MIC committees having the same effect.
The RoS then rolled-back MIC’s leadership to the 2009 line-up and declared Subramaniam as party chief and acting president for the sake of a re-election.
Palanivel then sought a judicial review, which was dismissed by the High Court and the verdict was also upheld by the Court of Appeal last year.
During MIC’s re-elections on Aug 21 last year, Subramaniam won the presidency uncontested.
However, earlier this year, former MIC strategic director K Ramalingam and seven other MIC members launched a legal action over an alleged conspiracy that toppled Palanivel from his presidency.
They are seeking to nullify RoS’ instructions and to remove Subramaniam as president. The case is ongoing.