AIADMK tussle: EPS new chief, OPS expelled; party headquarters sealed after clashes

Chennai: In a day of dramatic developments in the AIADMK, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) was elected its interim general secretary and O Panneerselvam (OPS) was expelled from the primary membership. The party headquarters were also “sealed” by the revenue authorities following a clash between their supporters in a span of five hours on Monday.

The principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu is facing its biggest challenge in the absence of charismatic leaders at the helm. It is likely to witness further turmoil when OPS, miserably outnumbered in popular support within the party, drags the affairs to the courts and the Election Commission of India.

The day began with OPS, a three-time stop gap chief minister, who is opposed to migrating to unitary leadership, heading to the AIADMK headquarters in Royapettah in Chennai. His arrival triggered clashes between his supporters and those of former chief minister Palaniswami. He entered the headquarters after his supporters broke open the doors and stayed put.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court gave green signal for the party executive and general council meeting, which OPS had challenged, just 15 minutes before the event was scheduled to begin.

At the general council meeting, resolutions were unanimously adopted replacing the dual leadership structure of coordinator and co-coordinator, which were created five years ago to accommodate the two leaders with equal powers, with that of the post of general secretary.

Palaniswami was unanimously elected “interim general secretary” of the AIADMK at the meeting and it was resolved that a full-time general secretary will be elected within four months as per amended bylaws. The amendments required an aspirant for the post to be a member of the party continuously for 10 years and their nominations to be proposed by a minimum number of district secretaries. Clearly the intent was to prevent Panneerselvam or former interim general secretary VK Sasikala from seeking to contest for the post, should they desire.

Following multiple appeals by various leaders, who accused Panneerselvam of hobnobbing with the ruling DMK and acting against the interests of the party for selfish reasons, the general council decided to expel him and his three supporters, Vaithilingam and PH Manoj Pandian (legislators) and JCD Prabakar from the party and all posts.

This is the second time the AIADMK headquarters are being sealed, the last one being after the death of its founder MG Ramachandran when the party split into factions led by his wife Janaki and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Calling Paneerselvam a stooge of the DMK, AIADMK leader D Jayakumar said it was a cheap tactic to seal the party headquarters. “We will face it legally,” he said.