Edappadi Palaniswami to be AIADMK's CM candidate for 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election

What Panneerselvam achieved was to get the Steering Committee appointed, a key demand that he has been stressing since he merged his faction with the AIADMK

Burying differences, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam on Wednesday announced incumbent Edappadi K Palaniswami as the party-led alliance’s Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2021 Assembly polls due in April-May 2021.

The announcement by Panneerselvam, also deputy chief minister, was made as part of a compromise formula arrived at between him and Palaniswami after several rounds of negotiations that began on Tuesday morning and ended only in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Also read: AIADMK sets house in order; to announce CM nominee and Steering Panel

For agreeing to announce his one-time junior colleague as the AIADMK’s chief ministerial face for the crucial polls, what Panneerselvam got in return was merely an 11-member Steering Committee to run the party. This was a key demand of OPS when he merged his faction with AIADMK in 2017 and joined the Palaniswami cabinet as a minister.

Though many termed the compromise as a “win-win situation” for the warring leaders, Palaniswami has managed to put his stamp all over by getting six of his cabinet colleagues, including two of his trusted lieutenants, in the Steering Committee. The OPS faction settled for five members and none of them hold any senior position in the party.

“I am happy to announce that the Presidium Chairman, the coordinator, joint coordinator, deputy coordinators, senior leaders, and the Steering Committee unanimously resolve to project Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami as the victorious Chief Ministerial candidate of the party for the 2020-21 assembly elections,” Panneerselvam said, as Palaniswami stood next to him.

Immediately after the announcement, OPS presented EPS with a bouquet of flowers and a shawl, even as party cadre burst crackers and distributed sweets outside the AIADMK headquarters.

Also Read: Chronology of power struggle within ruling AIADMK

Deputy coordinator K P Munuswamy said that Palaniswami will be the Chief Ministerial face of the AIADMK-led alliance for 2021 polls. Though Wednesday’s decision brought curtains on the long-standing issue, already rumblings have begun in the party with several senior leaders expressing displeasure at being overlooked for a seat in the Steering Committee.

Later, EPS and EPS drove to the memorials of party founder M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa to pay their respects. Palaniswami also paid a visit to Panneerselvam at his official residence to “thank” his deputy for his support.

The party also came under criticism for not naming a single woman in the Steering Committee with people reminding the AIADMK leadership that the outfit was led by a woman, J Jayalalithaa, for nearly three decades.

The members of the Steering Committee are senior ministers Dindigul C Sreenivasan, P Thangamani, S P Velumani, D Jayakumar, C. Ve Shanmugam, and R Kamaraj from Palaniswami’s side, while J C D Prabhakar, P H Manoj Pandian, P Mohan, Gopalakrishnan, and Manickam are from OPS faction.

Though the powers of the Steering Committee is yet to be announced, the panel is expected to play a major role in taking key decisions on alliance and election-related issues. With six of his colleagues in the panel, Palaniswami will have a larger say in decisions.