After rift, EPS-OPS put up united front at Gandhi Jayanthi event
In an apparent indicator of a reconciliation of sorts, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his Deputy O Panneerselvam jointly attended Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary celebrations presided over by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Marina beach on Friday. Though the two leaders acknowledged each other and shared greetings, the usual chemistry was missing, observed party insiders.
The rift that came out in the open at the party’s executive committee meeting on the CM candidate appears to have lessened for now, party seniors said.
“The two leaders consented to the Chief Minister candidature of EPS after the other demands raised by the party convenor were agreed upon in principle. The tension between the OPS and EPS faction is reducing and there will be a consensus on October 7,” a source said. The AIADMK MLAs and district secretaries are to meet here ahead of the October 7 deadline fixed for the announcement of AIADMK’s CM candidate.
However, a section of leaders also expressed reservations against the meeting, saying the matter should be amicably settled between the CM and his deputy. “The situation had turned ugly only because of inflammatory remarks by two ministers from Coimbatore region. OPS will come down if CM directly speaks with the party convenor. Neutral seniors like R Vaithilingam, D Jayakumar and JCD Prabhakar are trying to diffuse the tension between OPS and EPS,” a party senior told DT Next. He added that the matter would be resolved by Sunday evening. “Party joint convenor R Vaithilingam’s role is important as he is spearheading the talks between the sulking leaders,” the AIADMK senior said.
MLAs and dist secys are to meet ahead of Oct 7 for the announcement of CM candidate