What’s next for the AIADMK

Panneerselvam supporters said that they will continue to fight this issue as a contempt of court saying that the general council did not have powers to cancel these 23 resolutions and another meeting cannot be called.

Chennai:

After the AIADMK’s newly elected presidium chairman Tamilmagan Hussain announced that the next general council meeting will be convened on July 11 to discuss the unitary leadership, Panneerselvam walked out in a huff. (PTI)

Following the high drama at the general council meeting from where O Panneerselvam walked out along with his supporters, his side says they are still ready to peacefully discuss the issue with the rival camp of Edappadi Palaniswami. “According to the coordinator (Panneerselvam) he is ready for talks for the sake of the party; we have to come back to governance. He believes the dual leadership is what will help the party to continue to grow,” said deputy coordinator R Vaithyalingam. “If they (Palaniswami’s side) agrees to this, we have the opportunity to be united within the party and in future come back to power.”

The court order in his favour during the wee of Thursday gave Panneerselvam a temporary reprieve. But after the AIADMK’s newly elected presidium chairman Tamilmagan Hussain announced that the next general council meeting will be convened on July 11 to discuss the unitary leadership, Panneerselvam walked out in a huff. The meeting and the days in the run up to it have exposed that Panneerselvam’s dwindling support base is no match for Palaniswami as a majority of the party is throwing its weight behind him.

Cornered in a power struggle that has been simmering for long, Panneerselvam has resorted to desperate measures by knocking on the doors of the police and court to save his post which gives him equal power on paper with Palaniswami. The BJP and V K Sasikala have maintained a stoic silence over the AIADMK’s internal dysfunction that has spilled on to the streets. Though Panneerselvam and Sasikala have warmed up in recent months and Sasikala does enjoy some support from their Thevar community in the AIADMK she has not lent him a voice of support. And Palaniswami has made it abundantly clear that he will not entertain anyone associated with Sasikala. Speculation is rife that Panneerselvam would approach the Election Commission in Delhi against these developments.

Panneerselvam supporters said that they will continue to fight this issue as a contempt of court saying that the general council did not have powers to cancel these 23 resolutions and another meeting cannot be called. “The way they behaved today was autocratic. OPS feels today’s general council meeting was simply barbaric,” said Vaithyalingam who is one of Panneerselvam’s supporters. “Only the coordinator and joint coordinator have the powers to call for a general council meeting and not the presidium chairman.”

Following the meeting Palaniswami and his supporters including former senior ministers huddled at his residence in Chennai to discuss their next course of action.

Panneerselvam also released a condolence statement on Twitter for victims of a fire accident on an empty letter with no party markers and just signing off with his party post and as former chief minister. Since the dual leadership came into existence in 2017, both Panneerselvam and AIADMK’s joint coordinator Edappadi Palaniswami’s signatures are required in AIADMK’s official communications.

Political observers say Palaniswami’s camp will offer Panneerselvam an alternative post before July 11. “They will be open to a compromise and maybe give OPS the treasurer’s post. He can either accept it and stay within the party. If he bargains hard, they will go ahead and make the EPS the top leader anyway,” says political analyst Maalan Narayanan. “Then OPS will have very little options left. He cannot join the BJP who won’t know how to accommodate him. He may float his own party and may work in tandem with Sasikala without making it obvious because how will he explain merging with her? And EPS will never let Sasikala anywhere near the AIADMK. At best OPS can get the two leaves symbol frozen by the Election Commission.”

Given a scenario where either OPS goes into political oblivion or if he is not in the picture, EPS will have to contend with losing the support of the Thevar community dominant in the southern regions and to which OPS and Sasikala belong.