Poster war erupts in AIADMK over single leadership issue
Barely a day after the demand for single leadership in the AIADMK, posters have emerged on Wednesday appealing to party coordinator O Panneerselvam to head the outfit as the party’s sole leader. Meanwhile, the party coordinator Panneerselvam in a tweet urged all the AIADMK cadre to be silent and maintain calm.
The focus of the AIADMK’s district secretary meeting on Tuesday was to discuss the preparation for the party’s general council meeting. However, the main agenda has drifted and debate has erupted for single leadership to steer the party.
Though the AIADMK senior leader and former state fisheries minister D Jayakumar did not disclose who would be the choice for the single leadership to head the party, OPS, and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) are in forefront. Meanwhile the supporters of both OPS and EPS continued their internal discussions with respective leaders on the agenda for the upcoming general council.
“Both OPS and EPS will not give up their positions as they have their own set of region-wise supporters,” KC Palanisamy former AIADMK MP said. In my view the top leadership should be selected by the party members so that the cadre confidence will grow. “Therefore, single leadership will always strengthen the party,” he said adding “if this issue continues to grow there are chances that the AIADMK might split into factions.”
The former AIADMK leader also pointed out that the posters hailing OPS and EPS were not put up by the AIADMK cadre. “It would have been done by the close aids of both the leaders,” he alleged.
“The posters, which have been put up in Chennai and Theni in support of OPS, have clearly indicated that the OPS camp will not give up. Even EPS loyalists are too firm against bringing any other than EPS,” said former AIADMK IT wing secretary Aspire Swaminathan. OPS is firm and is not likely to yeild for single leadership idea mooted by team EPS, he told DT Next.
For the second consecutive day, OPS met AIADMK leaders, including Vaithiyalingam and Manoj Pandian over the single leadership row. Though Vaithiyalingam did not attach any significance to the meeting, party sources said the loyalists of OPS have extended their full support to head the party.