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Panneerselvam, new AIADMK deputy leader, teams with Palaniswami against Sasikala
O Panneerselvam was appointed as deputy leader of the AIADMK legislature party at a three-hour-long meeting at the party headquarters in Chennai to elect leaders to various positions in the legislature party
CHENNAI: Former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy, O Panneerselvam, the two top feuding 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 at the three-hour-long meeting at the party headquarters in Chennai to elect leaders to positions in the legislature party, a statement by the party said. 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 a 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.
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 despite being in power for 10 years.
Palaniswami had earlier tried to puncture 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 AIADMK membership details of the party worker as well. “They don’t understand that it is the cadre who decides the leader of this party,” she said.
“The dual leadership (of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam) will continue, if not, the party will break,” says political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy. “They both have fallen on Jayalalithaa and Sasikala’s feet. They will set aside their ego 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 of it.”
