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AIADMK gives Panneerselvam dy leader post, expels 16 Sasikala supporters
Chennai: Former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam, the two top leaders of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), on Monday came together to block expelled interim general secretary VK Sasikala from trying to regain control of the party and expelled 16 party members including three leaders for their proximity to her
Chennai: Former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam, the two top leaders of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), on Monday came together to block expelled interim general secretary VK Sasikala from trying to regain control of the party and expelled 16 party members including three leaders for their proximity to her.
O Panneerselvam was also appointed as deputy leader of the AIADMK legislature party, said a statement issued by the party after the three-hour-long meeting convened at the party headquarters in Chennai. Panneerselvam’s supporter, P H Manoj Panidan, was elected as deputy secretary while Palaniswami’s supporters and former ministers, SP Velumani, Kadambur C Raju and K P Anbalagan, were appointed as whip, treasurer and secretary respectively.
Monday’s appointments were a sharp contrast to the tussle between Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, the AIADMK’s dual leadership, which resurfaced after the previous two meetings of the legislature party. Last week, the chill in their relationship also reflected on the streets of Tamil Nadu when their supporters fought a poster war.
But on Monday, they spoke in one voice in a four-page resolution that threatened to expel anyone who associates with VK Sasikala. A party spokesperson V Pughazhendhi, former MP VK Chinnasamy and former MLA M Anandan were among the 16 who were expelled.
The AIADMK’s effort to shield the party from Sasikala comes against the backdrop of her attempts to reach out to party workers sympathetic to her and release audio tapes of her conversation that has workers pleading with her to assume a leadership role.
The resolution called the audio clips ‘drama’ and reiterated that the “party will never destroy itself for the desires of one family”. They recalled that Sasikala who had decided to ‘step away’ from politics before the assembly elections wanted to return because the AIADMK alliance won 75 of the 234 assembly seats, with the AIADMK alone securing 66 seats. That better-than-expected performance has been credited to the former CM’s track record.
Palaniswami earlier tried to counter her campaign, telling reporters that she hadn’t been speaking with AIADMK workers but members of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, the party floated by her nephew TTV Dhinakaran. But subsequent audio clips released by Sasikala’s team started mentioning the details of the party workers with whom she was speaking. “They don’t understand that it is the cadre who decides the leader of this party,” she said.
Sasikala was a friend and constant companion of former AIADMK supremo and CM, the late J Jayalalithaa. She was also, at one time, Palaniswami’s mentor, and made sure he became chief minister after Jayalalithaa’s death, once it became clear that she herself would go to jail after being found guilty in a disproportionate assets case. Palaniswami, however, made his peace with Panneerselvam, the other person in the running for the top post, and expelled Sasikala from the party.
She was released from jail after completing her sentence earlier this year. She has since tried to re-enter the party.
“The dual leadership (of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam) will continue, if not, the party will break,” said political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy. “They will set aside their egos and move forward together which will benefit both of them. If Sasikala wants and if she has public support she can be her own leader but the AIADMK and party symbol is in the hands of EPS and OPS. They will not let go.”
