The AIADMK, which should be busy organising its golden jubilee, is facing an existential crisis as another split in the party looks imminent. This time, the bone of contention between rival factions is the issue of leadership.
When coordinator O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami, in a joint statement issued on June 2, announced that the executive committee and the general council would hold their deliberations on June 23, many thought that the event was being organised only to fulfill the legal requirement of having to ratify the results of the just-concluded organisational elections. Again, discussions among district secretaries and headquarters’ functionaries, held at the party office on June 14, gave the impression initially that the proposed general council meeting was a mere formality. It was a low-key former Minister, Madhavaram V. Moorthy, who put the cat among the pigeons by mooting the idea of “single leadership” in the party. Most office bearers echoed his demand, taking Mr. Panneerselvam by surprise. In June 2019 too, after the party faced a rout in the Lok Sabha elections, its Madurai (sub-urban) district secretary and Tirupparankundram legislator, V.V. Rajan Chellappa, had made this demand.
The message of those who want change is obvious: a post should be created above those of coordinator and co-coordinator, and Mr. Palaniswami should occupy such a post. It was in September 2017, at the time of the merger of two groups, led by Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Palaniswami, that the general council abolished the post of general secretary. It appears that at least 60 out of 75 district secretaries and a large number of the headquarters’ functionaries are with this camp, which wants the general council to meet as scheduled.
