A terse tweet, hectic parleys at the state secretariat, a 100-feet banner and a grand reception marked the beginning of Monday for the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. The developments indicated the worsening power tussle between Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. The evolving conflict could further delay the decision on the announcement of the chief ministerial candidate for the assembly elections due next year.
Hours before leaving for Chennai from his hometown Theni, Panneerselvam took to Twitter to break his silence on the issue. In a cryptic tweet, the deputy chief minister said, “So far, my decisions have been in the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu and the AIADMK cadre. It will be so in the coming days too.” Quoting a verse from Bhagavad Gita, Panneerselvam said, “Whatever happened, happened for the good. Whatever is happening, is happening for the good. Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.”
On Friday, after paying respects to M.K. Gandhi and former TN chief minister K. Kamaraj, Panneerselvam went to Theni to be with his family. At Theni too, discussions to ease the factional feud between Palaniswami and Panneerselvam continued. Party seniors like Natham R. Viswanathan had called on Panneerselvam there. However, sources close to the deputy chief minister say he was firm that the 11-member steering committee needs to be constituted, which reportedly will be empowered to choose the candidates during the elections. Sources also confirm that Panneerselvam did not demand any decision on the chief ministerial candidate.
The power tussle in the AIADMK began immediately after the demise of its supremo Jayalalithaa in 2016, and the efforts of Jayalalithaa's close confidant V.K. Sasikala to position herself as the general secretary of the party. This was followed by the
Dharma Yudham launched by Panneerselvam, arrest of Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case in February 2017, and her choosing Palaniswami as the chief minister.
Much water has flown under the bridge since then. The Panneerselvam and Palaniswami factions merged under the guidance of the BJP in Delhi, and the duo ousted Sasikala and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran. Though Panneerselvam and Palaniswami came together, the differences between them remained unsettled. Former Rajya Sabha MP and AIADMK senior V. Maitreyan had, in a Facebook post, said the merger happened, but "hearts didn't come together". The two, termed "double barrel gun" by their partymen, worked together, without outwardly showing much of their differences and the humiliations they faced at the hands of each other.
The differences between them began spilling out in the open immediately after the Independence Day celebrations, and the ministers had to run between the houses of the two leaders in an attempt to resolve the crisis. There was a temporary truce, and a gag order was issued: "no one should talk about the chief ministerial candidate without the approval of the high command."
The truce, however, lasted only a month, as Panneerselvam called an emergency meeting at the party office. Later, the executive council of the party was convened, but no decision on the chief ministerial candidate was taken, and the feud between the two worsened.
In the past one week, the crisis deepened with neither of them willing to budge and give up their stakes in the party. Panneerselvam wants the steering panel, but Palaniswami is firm on not constituting the panel. Panneerselvam wants the party under him in return for the CM post for Palaniswami.
The past week also saw several closed-door meetings of ministers with the two leaders. However, no decision has come of as a result of these meetings.
Hours after Panneerselvam tweeted that he would take a good decision in the coming days, Palaniswami went into a huddle with senior ministers at the secretariat. Ministers K.A. Sengottaiyan, Dindigul C. Sreenivasan, C Ve Shanmugam, P. Thangamani, S.P. Velumani, K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji, and Vellamandi N. Natarajan had met the chief minister. Later, in the afternoon, Palaniswami had another round of meeting with ministers like R.B. Udhayakumar.
Sources say Udhayakumar will call on Panneerselvam, late in the night. Sources close to Palaniswami say that parleys would continue on Tuesday as well, and if Panneerselvam refuses to arrive at a consensus, Palaniswami supporters will declare him as the party leader and CM candidate. "We are for Palaniswami. He ran the show in these three years despite several hurdles. Panneerselvam was the person behind AIADMK's image hitting a new low in the state. He is a betrayer. And now he wants power," a senior minister told THE WEEK.
Nonetheless, Panneerselvam's message just two days ahead of the announcement of the CM candidate has caused further confusion among the AIADMK cadre about his stand.
In Theni, a 100-feet long banner hailing Panneerselvam as the 'Future CM of Tamil Nadu' was put up by his followers. It was later removed after he told his followers that this might widen the existing rift in the party.
With Panneerselvam's tweet and inconclusive parleys, AIADMK crisis is unlikely to be resolved by October 7.
