TN CM Edappadi K Palaniswami consolidates hold over state ruling party

Chennai: Demonstrating his firm grip over the ruling AIADMK, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday held a meeting of ministers and senior leaders at the party headquarters to discuss various issues. The most important of those issues was the need to stay firm and united in the resolve to keep the Sasikala family out of the party.

For the record, Finance Minister D Jayakumar told reporters after the 90-minute meeting that the sole agenda was to discuss preparations for the celebrations of Centenary year of party founder late MG Ramachandran. However, sources told Deccan Chronicle that the merger between two factions of the AIADMK and the need to be firm on the decision of not letting the Sasikala family into the party was discussed threadbare with Palaniswami himself leading the debate.

The meeting came in the backdrop of Dhinakaran summoning district secretaries to the party HQ on August 5 and his proposed meeting with interim general secretary VK Sasikala at the Parapana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Palaniswami and his senior colleagues had in April announced that they would not have “any truck” with the Sasikala family. Sources said after the meeting with party leaders and ministers that Palaniswami was closeted with senior colleagues separately and discussed the need for strengthening the party and to keep out the family.

During his interaction with reporters, the Finance Minister for the first time acknowledged that talks for a merger between the two factions "have been taking place" despite the OPS camp announcing that it has disbanded the committee formed to discuss modalities for unification. Jayakumar, who has emerged as the second-in-command of the government, made it clear that it was the Chief Minister who has been guiding the party and the AIADMK government and suggested that he would continue to do so.

"The doors for negotiations and discussion on merger are always open. Right from the Chief Minister to the cadre, everyone wants the party to be united since it is beneficial to the AIADMK. We hope there will be good decision soon," Jayakumar said, replying to a volley of questions about the merger of two factions.

The Finance Minister referred to the Sasikala family as "others" more than once, clearly indicating that the Chief Minister and his colleagues were firm in their decision taken in April to boot out the family - Sasikala, Dhinakaran and others - from the party.