Chennai: The AIADMK, Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition party, looks headed for another round of faction feud and internecine war, with former chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami getting the better of his former deputy O. Panneerselvam in a battle of supremacy.
Called OPS and EPS in political circles, the two are the coordinator and co-coordinator of the AIADMK, an innovative concept of dual leadership that was put in place after the demise of party chief J.Jayalalithaa in 2016, to keep the party united
EPS is now seeking to revert to “unitary leadership” by changing the bylaws of the party, by which Jayalalithaa had been appointed “eternal general secretary” after her death, and the dual leadership system introduced, in 2017.
On Friday, senior party leader C. V. Shanmugam said since the AIADMK’s general council did not table the resolution with regard to the December 2021 election of OPS and EPS as coordinator and co-coordinator, the dual leadership ceases to exist. “As of today, OPS is the party’s treasuer and EPS the headquarters secretary,” he told reporters.
At a meeting of the party’s general council — the AIADMK’s apex decision-making body — Thursday, OPS was booed and humiliated by EPS supporters and even had some plastic bottles thrown at him, before he walked out of the venue.
A majority of the general council members — there are over 2,600 in all — and senior leaders supported co-coordinator EPS’ push to be the sole leader of the party.
Just as OPS boarded his minivan to leave the venue, an LED screen flashed images of an unofficial coronation taking place inside the hall, where EPS accepted a crown and bouquets from his supporters. The meeting also saw a rejection of all 23 draft resolutions that were to be taken up for discussion.
Senior leader C. V. Shanmugam said, “The cadres are also tired of the dual leadership’s contradictory, unclear and non-cooperative functioning.”
He added: “If the party has to work for people for more than 100 years as told by Amma (as Jayalalithaa was fondly addressed), there is a need for a strong, brave, and clear single leader, like that of Puratchi Thalaivar (leader) MGR (former chief M.G. Ramachandran) and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma”.
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EPS-OPS tussle
The debate over single leadership comes to fore five years after the duo (EPS and OPS) reached a truce in 2017 to establish a dual leadership, following the demise of Jayalalithaa. The resolution at the time named Jayalalithaa as the “permanent general secretary” of the AIADMK and put in place a dual-leadership system steered by OPS and EPS.
Shortly after Jayalalithaa’s death, the AIADMK leadership brought in a series of amendments, which conferred the powers of general secretary to the newly-created coordinator and co-coordinator.
Now, it is the EPS camp which has introduced the idea of a single leadership within the party and has smoothly seen it through, given the developments at the general council meeting.
Voices in support of single leadership in the party grew stronger after a district secretaries meeting on 14 June. While both camps held several rounds of talks to resolve the issue, it remained unsuccessful.
OPS’ last-ditch effort to approach the Madras High Court in the hope that the court will intervene in stalling the selection of a single leader for the party also failed.
However, the general council meeting Thursday was still unable to adopt a formal resolution for a singular leadership because a division bench of the high court had ruled early Thursday morning that the council wouldn’t take any decision on unitary leadership on 23 June.
Another general council meeting has been scheduled for 11 July to discuss the demand of the members. It’s to be seen whether EPS has his way about unitary leadership in the next meeting, but given how OPS is completely outnumbered in the general council, he is unlikely to be able stall the move for long.
As for the party’s future prospects, though EPS lucked out with being the most powerful leader now as he enjoys the support of most district secretaries, general council members and party cadres, it is still early to say how the AIADMK will change as a party with this new dynamic.
Another angle is EPS’ own equation with former party general secretary V.K. Sasikala, who has in recent months made noises about returning to the party.
Stand against BJP
With the AIADMK suffering electoral setbacks since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which was the first without the charismatic presence of its leader Jayalalithaa, elections had resulted in an exasperated party cadre. The only winning candidate in the 2019 polls from AIADMK was P. Raveendranath Kumar who contested from the Theni constituency and won the seat with a margin of 76,693 votes.
After the demise of party chief J. Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK was in doldrums without a charismatic leader, with OPS and EPS being the face of it. The move to consolidate leadership and power with just one of the two men is also seen as a way to fix issues and delays within the AIADMK when it comes to decision-making.
Party cadres at Thursday’s general council meeting, spoke to The Print about how the AIADMK used to have a standing in the past, but has been “aimless” for a few years and in need of “fixing” through single leadership. With this shift in leadership, the “discipline” that party supremo J. Jayalalithaa brought in, will be restored, hoped members.
“Honestly, OPS is the thalaivar (the leader) but somehow he gave up all his authority. It naturally went over to EPS, he is now responsible for running the party. We need a strong head of the family. If the head of the family isn’t healthy, then the family will disintegrate,” said S.Paramasivam, a party member from Thiruvottiyur, at the general council venue.
Party functionaries also point to how the party will be more efficient in playing its role as the principal opposition in the state, which the BJP (which was briefly in alliance with the AIADMK during the state assembly elections last year) is actively vying for by dominating air waves.
Even though the power tussle within the AIADMK has given the BJP an opportunity to expand its footprint in the state, the move is also seen as one to solidify AIADMK’s presence with EPS working hard to keep its core vote base intact.
The discord between the two parties was laid bare at an event last month when AIADMK organisational secretary C. Ponnaiyan hit out at the BJP and accused the Union government of following “anti-Tamil” policies. He also described the alliance as an “electoral adjustment” and alleged that the BJP was trying to grow at the expense of the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, OPS and his supporters left for Delhi to show support for the NDA’s presidential nomination, raising questions over whether he is going to meet senior leaders of the BJP. Last week, he reiterated that it was only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence that he decided to join the then AIADMK government in 2017 as deputy chief minister under EPS.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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