When Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai invited him to be present alongside Draupadi Murmu when she filed her nomination papers to contest the Presidential elections, beleaguered AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam immediately booked his tickets to New Delhi amid his power struggle with Edappadi K Palaniswami.
It was because the former chief minister thought his sharing space on June 24 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah might at least move his colleague, Palaniswami, to have a rethink about his plans to oust him as the coordinator.
Palaniswami, known as EPS, has made it categorical to Panneerselvam (OPS) that he has to accept his leadership and propose him as the party’s next general secretary; the latter was humiliated by the former’s supporters at the AIADMK General Council meeting in Chennai on June 23.
The Delhi signal
While OPS’ faction has repeatedly maintained that it was “ready to hold talks”, EPS is firm and doesn’t want any talks that might delay his crowning as the leader of the AIADMK any further. Having lost his base among the legislators and members of the General Council — fully realising that he cannot knock at the doors of the judiciary often — OPS might have turned to his last resort — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Modi.
OPS extended his stay in New Delhi in the hope to get an audience with Modi, a meeting which he could have used to his advantage, but the former chief minister returned empty-handed on June 25 after the Prime Minister reportedly refused a one-on-one meeting.
Putting on a brave face after being cornered by the rival faction, OPS on Sunday said “true supporters” of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa are with them and asserted that “none can remove me” from the AIADMK. He also received a rousing reception at the Madurai Airport.
On the same day, the EPS faction fired another salvo at OPS by removing his name against the founder's column in Puratchi Thalaivi Namadhu Amma, the AIADMK’s mouthpiece. Only Palaniswami’s name finds a place now.
'We won’t interfere’
BJP, which in the past brokered peace between the warring OPS and EPS factions, seems to have decided to play the role of a spectator this time around after having realised that the developments within the AIADMK point to EPS taking over as the “leader”.
“We won’t interfere. Let AIADMK leaders decide who should lead their party,” a top source in the BJP told DH.
A meeting with Modi or Shah, even if politics wasn’t discussed, could have led to speculation about the BJP siding with OPS. Clearly, it looks like the BJP did not want to take sides this time not just because OPS has no visible support within the party but also because it doesn't want to rub EPS the wrong way.
BJP’s decision could have also stemmed from the fact that it was a witness to OPS’ political stock plummeting — despite the mighty saffron party standing behind him like a rock and a friendly Governor in C Vidyasagar Rao, OPS could not break V K Sasikala’s stranglehold over the AIADMK in 2017 – only 11 of the 134 MLAs switched over to his camp.
OPS’ base eroded further after EPS took over and began consolidating his position. He might join hands with Sasikala but as things stand today, the latter too doesn’t enjoy support in the AIADMK.
BJP realises EPS’ standing in AIADMK
At the maximum, political observers believe that the BJP might tell EPS to ensure that OPS is not completely sidelined. For BJP, AIADMK’s survival is very important given its strength in the assembly and Rajya Sabha in view of the President and vice-president elections and the bigger fight in 2024.
It may have been simply unplanned but Annamalai and C T Ravi, BJP’s Tamil Nadu in-charge, calling on EPS to seek support for Murmu first and OPS next speaks volumes about who holds the “real power” in AIADMK.
BJP also knows EPS is tough to deal with and known for asserting himself. The party won’t forget the way he stonewalled the efforts spearheaded by none other Shah to take V K Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dhinakaran into the alliance for the 2021 polls.
“O Panneerselvam has lost the game and he has nothing to offer or deliver. He has been pushed to the corner and the writing on the wall is clear for the BJP as well. It has to deal with EPS, and I think the BJP will back off from any efforts that would upset the dominant faction in the AIADMK even remotely,” senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh told DH.
The options before OPS are very limited. It is to be seen whether he is able to somehow stop EPS from assuming the leadership of the AIADMK on July 11 during the General Council meeting or just watch helplessly.
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