Amid the protracted leadership tussle in the AIADMK, Edappadi Palaniswami has indicated that O Panneerselvam is not the party's coordinator.
Published Jun 30, 2022 | 5:21 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 22, 2022 | 3:03 PM
AIADMK leader and former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, E Palaniswami (EPS)(Creative Commons)
The protracted leadership tussle in the AIADMK took a fresh turn on Thursday, 30 June, when Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) indicated that O Panneerselvam (OPS) is not the party’s coordinator, dealing a stinging blow to the former chief minister.
In a statement, a first since the public tussle over control of the AIADMK began, Palaniswami asserted that the general council meeting on 23 June rejected all the 23 resolutions.
He said that this was why the amendments to the party bylaw to facilitate elections to the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator had not been validated.
This assertion from Palaniswami comes a day after and in response to Panneerselvam’s letter written on Wednesday.
Panneerselvam, in his letter to Palaniswami, expressed his willingness to sign Forms A and B for the party’s candidates, which allows them to contest in the local-body bypolls in the state under the party’s ‘two leaves’ symbol.
However, Palaniswami, in response, addressed Panneerselvam as a “beloved brother” but added that the amendments to the party bylaw expired after the general council rejected it.
He also said that the letter Panneerselvam wrote addressing himself as the party’s coordinator was invalid and unacceptable.
The letter addressed Palaniswami as party headquarters secretary and Panneerselvam as the party’s treasurer.
“OPS writing a letter to me is unacceptable as he had made all the efforts to bring down a fully functioning party to a standstill by approaching the Avadi police commissioner, seeking help to stop the meeting from convening, and moving the court,” Palaniswami said in his letter.
He added that Panneerselvam boycotted the headquarters’ office-bearers’ meeting on 27 June, the last day for filing nominations for the local-body bypolls.
Palaniswami wrote, “Your letter on 29 June is invalid as you boycotted the meeting.”
The move brings Palaniswami closer to the single-leadership party model within the AIADMK and support for which has been growing recently.
Palaniswami seems to hold the upper hand at the moment, with large sections of the party backing him.
