JOIN USO Panneerselvam elected deputy leader of AIADMK legislature party
AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam was on Monday elected as deputy leader of the Legislature Party even as Edappadi K Palaniswami ensured that one of his lieutenants was chosen as the whip, a crucial and key post.
The AIADMK Legislature party also elected its other office-bearers keeping the caste equations in mind. Though Panneerselvam was not interested in holding the post of deputy leader, sources said legislators asked him to accept the post in the interests of the party, which is still smarting under the defeat in the April 6 Assembly polls.
Panneerselvam, who lost to Palaniswami in the race to be Leader of Opposition, is understood to have been sulking for the past few months and sought the post of the whip to his camp. But, Palaniswami did not want to part away with the crucial post from his camp -- his close aide S P Velumani is the new whip.
S Ravi, a Dalit leader, was elected as deputy whip, while K P Anbalagan, who hails from the dominant Vanniyar caste, is the new secretary, and Manoj PH Pandian from the Nadar community is the deputy secretary. Former minister Kadambur C Raju will be the new treasurer of the legislature party.
“OPS should not have accepted the post. He should have nominated one of his supporters to the deputy leader post. He has been relegated to eternal no. 2 in the party though he is the coordinator. Maybe, he got a call from Delhi (BJP) to accept whatever is given so that AIADMK stays united,” a senior leader told DH.