Says OPS, “Jayalalithaa is the permanent general secretary of the AIADMK.”

Chennai:

AIADMK’s O Panneerselvam on Monday attacked the Edappadi’s Palaniswami (EPS) faction, accusing it of betraying party rules.

Addressing a program on Monday, the OPS said, “After the demise of MGR, our leader Jayalalithaa was the permanent general secretary of the AIADMK. The one who wants to be the party chief should be chosen by the party workers.”

“Party laws were betrayed in the AIADMK General Council,” he said.

The OPS further said, “We have launched a second ‘Dharma Yuddham’ to save the party laws, which were instituted by MGR and followed by Jayalalithaa. Our aim is to ensure that Amma’s real workers become the next chief minister and Be the coordinator of the party.” Deputy Coordinator.

Regarding the Erode (East) by-election, the OPS said that they have accepted the Supreme Court’s decision on the by-election.

“We bow our heads and accept the Supreme Court’s verdict. People’s verdict is supreme,” he said.

He further said that the verdict of the public will be known on March 2.

They (EPS faction) have no respect at the ground level regarding the Erode bypoll, he said.

Apart from this, four major resolutions were passed in the meeting chaired by O Panneerselvam (OPS). These were the first to retrieve the AIADMK from the “dictatorship and betrayal” cluster. Secondly, an acknowledgment that ‘Amma’ (Jayalalithaa) remains the permanent General Secretary of the AIADMK (even in death).

Thirdly, it was agreed in the meeting that appointments to all the posts of the party would be done soon. And finally, the birth anniversaries of MGR and Ms. Jayalalithaa will be celebrated later this year in the form of three village festivals in March.

Earlier, the Election Commission had approved the ‘two leaves’ symbol for the all-India AIADMK, marking a minor victory for the Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) faction.

Earlier, the Supreme Court ordered the AIADMK General Council to pass a resolution on the party’s candidate in the upcoming by-election to the Erode (East) constituency in Tamil Nadu.

The bypoll was to be held on February 27 and the counting of votes would take place on March 2.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Thirumagan, the great-grandson of social reformer ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy and son of former Union minister EVKS Elangovan.

The BJP has officially announced its support to the Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) faction candidate of the AIADMK in the upcoming bypolls. The EPS faction of the AIADMK has fielded KS Thennarasu as its candidate for the seat.

BJP state president K Annamalai issued a letter in support of KS Thennarasu’s candidature.

Subsequently, the candidature of O Panneerselvam (OPS) faction candidate T Senthilmurugan was withdrawn.

The Congress has announced former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief EVKS Elangovan as the party’s candidate for the February 27 bypoll to the Erode (East) assembly constituency.

Since the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in 2016, the AIADMK has been following a dual-leadership formula as co-coordinator of EPS and coordinator of OPS. Secretary’s meeting on June 14, 2022.

At the AIADMK General Council meeting on July 11, 2022, Edappadi K Palaniswami was elected as the interim general secretary of the party.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)