Bereft of support, OPS asks police not to allow AIADMK General Council

In a last-ditch effort to prevent his being dislodged as the coordinator of the AIADMK by the rival Edappadi K Palaniswami camp, former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam on Tuesday knocked at the doors of the police asking them not to permit the party’s General Council meeting on June 23.

The decision by Panneerselvam to write a three-page letter to Avadi Police Commissioner came after it became increasingly clear that a resolution to revert to the time-tested model of “unitary leadership” by abolishing the current dual leadership will be moved and passed by the EPS camp, which enjoys the majority among MLAs and members of the General Council.

Tuesday also saw OPS’ support base dwindling further with a few district secretaries and district-level functionaries extending their support to EPS. ‘MaFoi’ K Pandiarajan, the only then minister to join OPS’ Marina Rebellion against V K Sasikala in 2017, also jumped ship and asked his former boss to pave the way for Palaniswami to take over the leadership mantle.

Also Read: 'Unitary leadership' likely to take centre stage at AIADMK June 23 General Council meet

In the letter, OPS asked the Avadi Police Commissioner not to allow the General Council, which will be held at a marriage hall in Vanagaram on the outskirts of Chennai, citing “law and order” issues. Speculation was rife that the faction is mulling moving the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the issue.

OPS, who stood for Jayalalithaa twice when she had to resign as chief minister due to corruption cases, lost his clout within the party after the 2017 Marina Rebellion against Sasikala even as EPS consolidated his position within the party by completing his tenure and leading the AIADMK to the best-ever performance in a losing election.

Even as OPS showed his desperation to stop the General Council from convening, the EPS faction was upbeat with many senior leaders openly declaring that Palaniswami will assume “unitary leadership” of the AIADMK for the first time since J Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016.

“EPS has the support of the majority to take over as the leader of the AIADMK. Be it cadres, district secretaries, MLAs or General Council members, all want EPS,” former minister D Jayakumar told reporters. Another former minister R B Udhayakumar expressed the hope that OPS will come around and support EPS in the “interests of the party.”

Sources told DH that the EPS faction will bring the resolution seeking to abolish the dual leadership as a “separate agenda” in the General Council meeting. “Once the resolution is passed, another resolution electing EPS as the leader will be moved in all probability,” a source said.

For OPS, this is a crucial battle as ceding the only “powerful” position he holds in the party to EPS, who has consolidated his position in the AIADMK, would only mean that he would be pushed to political oblivion.

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. It was EPS’ aides who broached the “unitary leadership” at a meeting on June 14 which was convened to discuss the general council meeting.

EPS, 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 Sasikala into the party before the 2021 assembly polls, maintaining that the “core vote bank” of the AIADMK stays with the party and not the splinter group.