Chennai: In a shot in the arm for Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), the Election Commission (EC) has endorsed his unanimous election as the general secretary of the AIADMK. With the poll panel's recognition, he becomes the sole leader of the Dravidian major, the principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu.
Significantly, this is a major setback for his rival and former Deputy Chief Minister OPS, heading a splinter group and engaged in a legal battle for political survival. The AIADMK is the only major constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and this development comes ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, which is less than a year away. Coincidentally, EPS has received the invite for the upcoming NDA meet in the national capital while OPS, seen as more pliable to the saffron party, has been left in the cold.
In the updated list of office-bearers on the EC's website, EPS is the general secretary of the party while Tamil Magan Hussain is the presidium chairman and Dindigul C Sreenivasan is the treasurer. The poll panel's move followed the Madras High Court rejecting the batch of petitions by OPS and his supporters, who were expelled from the party, challenging the election process for the post of general secretary. Though the EC endorsement comes with a rider that a final decision would depend on the judgments in pending cases in the courts, this has further cemented the position of EPS.
From Madras High Court to the Supreme Court, EPS has been fighting a losing battle. Now, he and his team are pinning their hopes on the appeal in the High Court against a single judge dismissing their plea.
The single judge had upheld the July 11 last general council resolutions, abolishing the dual posts of Coordinator (OPS) and Joint Coordinator (EPS) and making EPS as the interim general secretary. The general council also expelled OPS and others. Soon after the verdict, EPS was elected general secretary unopposed.
For OPS, this is yet another blow following last week's Madras High Court verdict declaring as null and void the election of OPS's son OP Ravindranath as the MP from Theni in the 2019 LS poll for suppressing his income and assets in the affidavit.
Unwilling to give up the fight against his rival, OPS has announced a state-wide protest on August 1, to press for speeding up the probe into the sensational heist cum murder at late Jayalalithaa's palatial bungalow in the Kodanad estate in Ooty in 2017, months after her demise. The accused in the case, Manoj and Sayan have alleged that it was carried out at the instance of a top AIADMK leader. EPS was the Chief Minister then and OPS his deputy. “The mastermind behind the crime should be brought to book without any further delay,” OPS told the media.
“I was not holding the home portfolio. Hence, I was powerless and I could not do anything. The one who held that portfolio did not even visit the scene of crime, the place where Jayalalithaa used to hold cabinet meetings as well. Chief Minister MK Stalin had assured to speed up the investigation, but it is going on at a snail's pace. We want the case to reach its logical end and the culprits punished,” he said in response to a question.
Following criticism that the local police had failed to carry out a proper investigation, the case was handed over to the CB-CID and the trial is being held at Ooty. Of the 11 accused involved in the heist cum murder, Kanagaraj, who served as Jayalalithaa's driver, and Sayan, have died under mysterious circumstances in road mishaps.
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