R. ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, AUG 15
The AIADMK top leadership has set at rest the speculation over the Chief Ministerial candidate in the 2021 assembly election after hectic parleys between the AIADMK Co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Saturday.
மாண்புமிகு முதல்வர் திரு. எடப்பாடி கே. பழனிசாமி, மாண்புமிகு துணை முதல்வர் திரு. ஓ.பன்னீர்செல்வம் ஆகியோரின் முக்கிய அறிவிப்பு. pic.twitter.com/d3VSrngdet
— AIADMK – Say No To Drugs & DMK (@AIADMKOfficial) August 15, 2020
The controversy brewed following the utterings of AIADMK Virudhunagar District Secretary and Dairy Development Minister K.T. Rajenthra Balaji and Cooperative Minister Sellur K. Raju who would be the Chief Ministerial candidate. And posters sprung up in Theni district, the home turf of the Deputy Chief Minister O.Panneer Selvam, stating that “The only Chief Minister OPS ayya, who received the blessing of Puratchi Thalaivi (J Jayalalithaa) #2021CMForOPS.”
Remembering Our Puratchi Thalaivi Amma's historic quote today. pic.twitter.com/F4ZeMcTQzo
— AIADMK – Say No To Drugs & DMK (@AIADMKOfficial) October 24, 2019
The poster was circulated in a few villagers of Bodi in Theni district. It is widely known that no such poster would have been put up in this manner without tacit approval from OPS, and this has rung the emergency bells at the party. On Saturday morning, a batch of senior ministers held multiple meetings with OPS and CM Edappadi Palanisamy, going from one residence to the other.
Also Read: http://navjeevanexpress.com/aiadmk-will-take-decision-on-cm-candidate-at-appropriate-time-deputy-coordinator-k-p-munusamy/
After the patch-up between the two leaders come to a conclusion, the leadership chose to put up a united front. The AIADMK on Saturday issued a statement jointly in the name of the coordinator OPS and joint coordinator EPS urging party members to maintain ‘military-style’ restraint, similar to what was followed under former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
The statement also warns of severe action against the party functionaries who speak about the AIADMK’s affairs in public without the approval of the party leadership.
https://twitter.com/OPSTamilNadu/status/1294141262161776641
“In the past few days, the comments made by a few party administrators without any background has led to a topic for debate among others. To avoid such situations from being repeated, we request you all to exercise ‘military-style’ control over your comments and follow the commands of the party leadership, similar to what was in practice during Puratchi Thalaivi Amma’s times,” the statement said.
The statement further said that all the party decisions around alliance and policy decisions will be taken in a democratic manner, the AIADMK urged its workers to not fall for smaller disturbances.
“It is the time for us to work together to ensure that the party and the government work in a manner that is appreciated by everyone,” the statement said, adding that action will be taken on anyone who expresses their personal comment on the party’s stance in any media or platform without the party’s approval.
The statement comes after speculation of a leadership tussle between Edappadi and Paneerselvam over who would be the Chief Ministerial candidate in the 2021 Assembly Election. It also comes on a day when posters surfaced in Theni, Paneerselvam’s hometown, proclaiming OPS as having Jayalalithaa’s blessing. Using the hashtag #2021CMforOPS, the posters also claimed he is the ‘eternal CM of the people’.
Saturday saw back and forth meetings, with a group of 10 senior ministers acting as the mediators between the CM and the Deputy CM. The meetings began at the residence of O Panneerselvam in Chennai at around 11 am, when at least 10 ministers including SP Velumani, D Jayakumar, KA Sengottaiyan, CV Shanmugam, P Thangamani and Kadambur Raju had a 1.5 hour-long discussion with the Deputy CM. They then went to Palaniswami’s residence for a discussion that lasted around an hour, only to return to Panneerselvam’s house. The last leg of the meeting took place at Edappadi Palaniswami’s house, which lasted for around half an hour.
Also Read: http://navjeevanexpress.com/aiadmk-ministers-differ-over-the-partys-chief-ministerial-candidate-in-2021-assembly-election/
Apart from Rajenthra Balaji, other senior AIADMK ministers like Sellur K Raju, KP Munusamy, and RB Udhayakumar had also weighed in on who will be the Chief Minister candidate of the party in the upcoming polls. With a storm brewing within the party, minister D Jayakumar told the media that whatever Rajenthra Balaji expressed was his personal opinion and not the party’s stance.
On August 13, O Panneerselvam took to his official Twitter account to remind party members that it was Jayalalithaa’s dream to win a third consecutive term in Tamil Nadu and urged them to work with a sense of duty and responsibility towards that victory. “Those who live in the path shown by Amma should stand united and walk with integrity. Tomorrow is ours,” he tweeted. These tweets were reportedly considered as his acknowledgment of the murmurs around AIADMK’s Chief Minister candidate in the upcoming polls.
