R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, SEPT 29
Day after the party Executive Committee meeting, the rift between the two factions of ruling AIADMK led by EPS and OPS widened further on Tuesday.
According to political pundits, if the warring factions do not bury the hatchet and work unitedly for the party’s victory at the hustings immediately, it will be surely giving away the ‘Fort’ to the main opposition DMK led by MK Stalin on a silver platter.
A fresh bout of bickering among the leadership issue was visible on Tuesday, as the AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam skipped the crucial COVID-19 review meeting with district collectors which he used to attend along with the joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami at the Secretariat.
O Panneerselvam was closeted with his close confidant KP Munusamy and R Vaithilingam, both are Rajya Sabha members and also Deputy Coordinators of the party at his Greenways Road residence.
After hectic parleys with OPS, R. Vaithilingam, told the waiting journalists at OPS’s residence that there is no political significance to the meeting. When asked about the CM candidate, he said, “Let us see on October 7 and added that “there is confusion on the matter and AIADMK would recapture the power in the state.”
Incidentally, KP Munusamy had announced after the stormy EC meet on Monday that OPS and EPS would jointly announce the Chief Ministerial candidate on October 7.
Vaithilingam on Tuesday said he supported both Panneerselvam and Palaniswami considering the party interests.
The former minister in the late J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet said his goal ‘is to see the party retain power next year’ by further strengthening the AIADMK.
Munusamy too said not much should be read into the consultations which were only about routine ‘party work.’
During the split in the AIADMK, Vaithilingam and Munusamy were with the factions led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, respectively. The two factions merged in 2017 following which Panneerselvam was made Deputy Chief Minister and made party coordinator.
Senior leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, when asked about the rival claims at the executive committee meeting, said it was nothing but ‘healthy exchange’ of views.
“Let us wait and see on Oct 7,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
Asked if the release of VK Sasikala, the former aide of late party supremo Jayalalithaa, was discussed at the executive Jayakumar shot back: “It was an unnecessary subject. Why should it be discussed at the meet?”
Sasikala was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case by the Supreme Court in February, 2017.
Former Information Technology Minister M Manikandan, who was dropped from the Cabinet last year by Palaniswami, and former MP, P H Manoj Pandian were also present at Panneerselvam’s residence on Tuesday.
At the executive, Pandian had taken the stand that Palaniswami and Panneerselvam were like the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol of the party (to denote togetherness and unity)
According to multiple sources present in the executive committee meeting on Monday, sparks flew during an open debate between Panneerselvam and Palaniswami. Among the many exchanges was this repartee-laden one: Panneerselvam qualified Palaniswami as the candidate of VK Sasikala, the banished aide of Jayalalithaa, while he was chosen directly by the Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader) herself. To that, Palaniswami let out a leveller: “We are both choices of Sasikala.”
Sources present in the meeting said the Palaniswami faction had come to the meeting with a clear plan of demanding that the committee choose chief ministerial candidate right away. Flanked by his own coterie of ministers — KA Sengottaiyan, SP Velumani, P Thangamani and Dindigul Sreenivasan — Palaniswami had a strong pitch going for him for the CM’s chair.
Panneerselvam’s meeting with his own coterie underscores the unresolved issues festering within the AIADMK and the burning need among OPS for more authority within the party.
Going by the current state of affairs, it appears the AIADMK will continue to churn until the dust over internal wrangles settles within the party.
