Chennai: Beleaguered AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam is resisting with all his might a determined bid to marginalize him by abolishing the present diarchy and elevating his rival and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami as the sole leader. Hectic parleys and midnight conclaves have become the order in both the camps to chalk out plans ahead of the party general council meeting slated for June 23.
On Saturday, even as the panel constituted to finalize the resolutions to be placed before the general council had its fourth meeting, Marimuthu, a party functionary in the city was assaulted by supporters of OPS who had gathered outside the party headquarters at Royapettah. “I was attacked for being a supporter of EPS and accompanying former minister D Jayakumar who arrived for the meeting,” he told the media. With supporters of both EPS and OPS having gathered in large numbers, there was sloganeering in support of their respective leaders to be the sole leader.
It all started on June 14, when Jayakumar, emerging from the meeting of party district secretaries and the resolution panel, told the media that there was an overwhelming demand for giving up the diarchy – dual leadership of OPS and EPS – in favor of a single leadership. When the chorus for 'monocracy' was raised, the meeting witnessed heated exchanges and OPS was singled out for attack by loyalists of EPS. Then a poster war between both the camps erupted, urging either OPS or EPS to take over the mantle.
A day later, OPS, whose support within the party hierarchy has dwindled, threatened that a change in the present arrangement worked out with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would lead to the “destruction of the party and reviving the post of General Secretary, would be a betrayal of 'Amma' (late Jayalalithaa)”. But, his detractors were quick to point out that he too was a party to elevate VK Sasikala, as general secretary after the demise of Jayalalithaa.
Even after five days and as many meetings of the resolution panel, a consensus continues to be elusive. Party veterans like former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai have tried in vain to persuade OPS to accept the single leadership formula with a dignified position for him. According to AIADMK functionaries, out of the 75 district secretaries, OPS has the support of only 11 while EPS enjoys the loyalty of over 60. Even those from the Thevar community to which OPS also belongs have switched sides.
However, the OPS camp maintains that he can veto any resolution placed before the general council and without his concurrence, no item could be taken up. “The call for single leadership will lead to the destruction of the party. It is neither desirable nor compelling. It will lead to litigation. Without the concurrence of OPS no resolution can be taken up at the general council,” former Minister and deputy coordinator of the party R Vaithilingam, told the media.
There is also another dimension to this turf war. OPS hails from the south where the dominant OBC Thevar community was once the captive vote bank of the AIADMK. It is no longer the case. EPS is from the dominant OBC Gounder community in the western belt from where a lion's share of the 65 MLAs is elected. This has given him an upper hand and the present conflict is also seen as a battle between the party leadership between the communities.
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Now, the OPS camp has warned of the party symbol getting frozen in the event of the diarchy being abolished and single leadership established. A letter to their supporters has made it clear that any attempt to tamper with the by-laws to opt for monocracy is fraught with the danger of the party getting entangled in legal disputes and the Election Commission freezing the symbol. The tenure of the diarchy is not yet over and terminating it prematurely was not in the interest of the party, it was also pointed out.
However, sources close to EPS maintain that the former Chief Minister is still interested in pushing ahead with the single leadership. And his emissaries continue to engage OPS to get him on board. Whether OPS falls in line and EPS has the last laugh remains to be seen.
