AIADMK General Council meeting was held in Chennai.
Chennai:
The tussle for control over the opposition AIADMK in Tamil Nadu intensified on Thursday after party chief O Panneerselvam pulled out of a crucial meeting as senior leaders backed the demand for a “single leadership” by rival Edappadi Palaniswami.
As soon as the General Council meeting began amid chaotic scenes of sloganeering, the process of passing 23 pre-determined resolutions was initiated.
The first of them was proposed by Mr. Panneerselvam known as OPS and the second by Mr. Palaniswami known as EPS, who in his brief remarks addressed the former as “brother”.
However, senior leader Shanmugam, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha, declared that all the proposals have been “rejected by the general council”.
Deputy secretary KP Munusamy said all the members of the GC have rejected all the 23 proposed proposals, adding, “their only demand is a single leadership.”
Ahead of the meeting, tension prevailed with supporters of Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Palaniswami shouting slogans against each other.
While Ops along with his supporters first entered the venue, Eps later entered the scene dramatically when his followers shoved him to welcome him and lead him to the stage.
Hours after the meeting, the Madras High Court restrained the AIADMK General Council from taking any decision on the single leadership formula pushed by the EPS.
After a late night hearing, the court said the party’s highest decision-making body can accept only 23 proposals already listed.
Yesterday, the court had refused to stay the meeting of the General Council. This had raised hopes for Mr Palaniswami or EPS, who hopes to elevate himself as the party’s general secretary.
His rival and current party boss O Panneerselvam or OPS wants the dual leadership pattern to continue in the party.
Yesterday, in court, the OPS’s lawyers argued that he would not allow any amendments or resolutions to the General Council other than the 23 already submitted.
However, EPS’s lawyers argued that this could not be guaranteed, as the discussions are based on the views of the members.
Trouble started last week when supporters of EPS proposed the idea of a single leadership under his leadership at a meeting of district secretaries.
However, the OPS wanted a high-level committee of senior leaders working with party founder MGR and Jayalalithaa to be set up to guide the leadership.
He argued that after Jayalalithaa’s death, the party’s general council had developed a dual leadership model and declared the late Jayalalithaa as the party’s eternal general secretary. He said any amendment would be a “betrayal”.
Jayalalithaa had twice chosen the OPS to be her stand-in chief minister, when she had to step down after being convicted. Although OPS was promoted for the third time just before his death, Jayalalithaa’s aide VK Sasikala, who briefly headed the party, replaced him with EPS after revolting against him.
However, the two leaders reconciled and Ms. Sasikala was expelled while she was in jail. Became number one in OPS party and EPS deputy. OPS Chief Minister became EPS Deputy in the government.
During his four-year tenure as Chief Minister, the EPS consolidated its position and took control of the party.