AIADMK power tussle: Madras HC green signal to big-ticket party meet, EPS set to become supremo

AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam on Monday suffered a major setback as Madras High Court refused to stall to the AIADMK General Council meeting, where E Palaniswami is set to be elected as the single, supreme party leader. Panneerselvam had moved court seeking stallation of the meeting which proposes to revive interim general secretary post and abolish coordinator as well as joint coordinator posts.

In the meeting, the 2500-plus strong General Council largely with pro-EPS members is expected to elevate EPS as the interim general secretary of the party, abolishing the present dual leadership model. The meeting is also likely to strip OPS's position as Treasurer.

Ahead of the court order, two groups of suspected AIADMK workers clashed outside the party headquarters where the big-ticket meeting is scheduled to be held. 

#WATCH Chennai, TN: O Paneerselvam supporters break open the door of AIADMK office, ahead of party's general council meeting being led by E Palaniswami pic.twitter.com/A5wNwpHPgk

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2022

Even as the high court will pronounce its order before the meeting, all arrangements are in place to hold the meet on the premises of a marriage hall on the city's outskirts. 

With the OPS camp stoutly opposing the meeting to pick Palaniswami as the top leader, the party has installed entry control equipment like flap barriers and turnstile to allow only authorised functionaries with access cards, seen as a first in Tamil Nadu by any political party.

While Palaniswami's side said the support from GC members has increased to 2,455, Panneerselvam faction said that OPS had the support of 1.5 crore party members. The party has about 2,650 GC members  

Since last month, the AIADMK has been witnessing serious intra-party wrangling over the issue of single-leadership and Palaniswami has the support of an overwhelming majority and Panneerselvam has been sidelined in the party. It is expected that the AIADMK may soon act against Panneerselvam. 

Panneerselvam was earlier seen as the political heir of late AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa while Palaniswami enjoyed support from party workers. 

Jayalalithaa had twice picked Panneerselvam as the stand-in-CM when she had to step down following her conviction. Though OPS was elevated for the third time just before she died, Jayalalithaa's aide VK Sasikala, who briefly took over the party, replaced him with EPS after he rebelled against her. Later, in a dramatic twist, both EPS and OPS patched up and expelled Sasikala when she was in jail. OPS became the party supremo and Palaniswami his Number 2.