The power struggle within the AIADMK, Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition party, came out wide open on Thursday with party coordinator O Panneerselvam accusing the camp led by his colleague Edappadi K Palaniswami of trying to rake up the issue of “singular leadership” without any valid reason.
In a rare press conference flanked by his supporters, Panneerselvam said nobody can put pressure on him to resign from the position of coordinator as he was elected to the post by cadres through internal elections. At the same time, OPS said he was praying to God that “things get settled amicably” before the General Council meeting on June 23.
While contending that the “dual leadership” where both OPS and EPS have the signing powers was functioning smoothly, he also warned the rival faction from going ahead with reviving the post of General Secretary. "Such an act would amount to treachery against J Jayalalithaa as the AIADMK’s general council had decided that she will be the eternal general secretary,” OPS said.
“It was agreed during the compromise arrived at in 2017 that the party will function under a dual leadership. We functioned that way for four years and in December 2021, both of us got elected as coordinator and joint coordinator of the AIADMK by cadres. This cannot be changed,” he said, adding that he was “ready for talks” with the rival camp.
The presence of R Vaithilingam, an influential leader from the Mukulathor community to which OPS and V K Sasikala belong, at the press conference was significant since he has always been identified with EPS. Otherwise, OPS support base has dwindled since his 2017 Marina Rebellion against V K Sasikala.
While being careful in not mentioning Palaniswami’s name and avoiding any attack on him, Panneerselvam, however, questioned who gave the permission to “make public” the details of the discussion at the district secretaries meeting on June 14 in which the demand for a “single leadership” was raised.
OPS also said it was the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he decided to join the then AIADMK government as deputy chief minister under EPS.
The press conference by OPS comes a day after the EPS camp is understood to have told him to make way for Palaniswami as the “leader” of the AIADMK which the Panneerselvam camp interprets as general secretary.
“I have never aspired for any post or position in the AIADMK. My interest has always been that of the cadre. I am the coordinator of the party, and no one can pressure me to give up this post,” he said.
Panneerselvam also expressed hope that talks are held before June 23 to arrive at an “amicable solution.” “I pray to God that the General Council meeting passes off peacefully,” he said.
The EPS faction believes his being at the top will help the party “counter” the ruling DMK in an “efficient way” and also challenge the BJP which is projecting itself as the principal Opposition party.
After J Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016, her long-time aide V K Sasikala was appointed as interim general secretary, but EPS and OPS joined hands to keep the latter and her family away from the AIADMK. To ensure that the party stays united, OPS and EPS experimented with a “dual leadership” for the first time in the history of AIADMK – they introduced amendments to the bye-laws of the party to allow them to get elected through a single-vote system.
However, the almost five-year-old experiment seems to be failing. The demand made on Tuesday was a surprise for many as just a month ago Palaniswami, the joint coordinator, said that the demand for a “singular leadership” does not arise at all as he and Panneerselvam were “working together” in the interests of the party.
OPS, who lost his support base slowly to EPS, was hoping for Sasikala, the woman against whom he rebelled, to take over the party but she received little support. As things stand today, EPS is dead opposed to Sasikala’s re-entry into the party – a stand that is supported by many leaders, including those perceived to be close to OPS.
Palaniswami, hand-picked by Sasikala as Chief Minister in 2017 before she went to serve her four-year term in a disproportionate assets (DA) case, had stonewalled BJP's proposal to induct her into the party or alliance before the 2021 assembly polls, maintaining that the “core vote bank” of the AIADMK stays with the party and not the splinter group.