AIADMK’s woes are far from over

The crisis won’t end even if the OPS faction’s demands are met

O n Thursday, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami ordered an inquiry commission into the death of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The probe will be headed by a retired judge of the Madras High Court. With the probe order and converting Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden res

ourtake idence into a memorial, Mr Palaniswami has met two of the demands put forward by former chief minister O Panneerselvam’s faction, the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), for a merger. Signs of a possible merger raise hopes that the ruling AIADMK will get to focus on governance; but, unfortunately, the problems within the party are far from over. Both the EPS and OPS factions were expected to merge on Friday and the stage was set for the grand announcement at Jayalalithaa’s memorial, but alleged differences in the OPS camp has stopped it for now. AIADMK’s deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran’s opposition to both EPS and OPS has split the party three ways. Mr Dinakaran claims to have the support of 30 MLAs, whose exit might not bring down the government but it will seriously affect its legitimacy. To add to these complications, Jayalalithaa’s nephew and niece have come forward claiming rights over their aunt’s Poes Garden residence.

What’s unfolding is the manoeuvring and outmanoeuvring by AIADMK leaders for the political sceptre to remain in power — this has little to do with the welfare of the people of the state. A memorial might make for good political spectacle, but it does little to alleviate the sufferings of the drought-hit farmers. In this intra-party factional din the government seems to have forgotten that the bypolls to the RK Nagar assembly seat left vacant with Jayalalithaa’s demise need to be held.

The political uncertainty that has rocked the state since December 5 when Jayalalithaa died is not showing any signs of going away. This must not be left to simmer any longer. Tamil Nadu governor C Vidyasagar Rao could intervene to bring more clarity to the situation. Meanwhile, Mr Palaniswami must keep the party’s housekeeping matters away from public glare and ensure that Tamil Nadu is politically stable.