CHANGING AVATARS

An intense fractious fight has come to a head in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), bringing an end to the twin leadership in the party, till now shared by Tamil Nadu’s last chief minister E. Palaniswami (EPS) and his predecessor O. Panneerselvam (OPS).

- Amarnath K. Menon

TAMIL NADU/ AIADMK

At the party general council meeting on June 23, an overwhelming majority endorsed the idea of a single leader, and they backed EPS for the job. As expected, the meeting soon turned chaotic, with water bottles being thrown at OPS as he stood firm against the one-leader system. As the majority jeered, OPS was forced to walk out with his supporters.

EPS, who consolidated his position when he was CM for four years, now wants to be the all-powerful general secretary of the AIADMK. Nearly five years after amending the AIADMK constitution to introduce the twin leadership concept—while anointing the late J. Jayalalithaa as ‘eternal general secretary’—he hopes to turn the AIADMK back to a single boss party. Rule 20 of the party constitution vests the general secretary with sweeping powers, including nominating and dismissing office-bearers and initiating disciplinary proceedings. Anyone challenging his actions automatically loses primary membership of the party.