Eye on merger, Palanisamy distances party from Sasikala, Dhinakaran

Chennai: The stage is now set for the merger of the two factions of the AIADMK with the camp led by chief minister Edappadi K Palanisamy openly declaring the appointment of TTV Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary by his aunt VK Sasikala as “illegal” and asking him to refrain from “creating confusion” in the party through his actions.

On the eve of his crucial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Palanisamy chaired a meeting of party office bearers and passed a resolution suggesting that the post of General Secretary in the AIADMK will be kept vacant as a tribute to J Jayalalithaa, who passed away on December 5, 2016.

Sources said it also mean that after the merger, O Panneerselvam will not be the general secretary of the party, but will only lead a committee that would run the party and coordinate with the government. The merger, being facilitated on Modi’s wish, is expected to take shape formally after they return from New Delhi on Friday night or Saturday.

Sources also told Deccan Chronicle that there was a high probability of Palanisamy and Panneerselvam meeting in New Delhi to stitch up the merger that is expected to infuse stability into the AIADMK government, which has been facing uncertainty ever since Jayalalithaa passed away.

“Both leaders — Palanisamy and Panneerselvam — will face the media together to announce the merger very soon,” a senior leader said.

The party also effectively distanced itself from Sasikala since it admitted that her appointment as general secretary after the death of Jayalalithaa has been challenged in the Election Commission. In an effort to drive home the point that only the office bearers appointed by late Jayalalithaa continue to steer the AIADMK, KA Sengottaiyan and Dindigul C Sreenivasan, who were appointed as presidium chairman and treasurer by Sasikala in February, did not sign the resolution, though they attended the meeting.

“It was a concerted decision not to include their names to send the message loud and clear that Jayalalithaa is still supreme in the party and appointments made by her still stands,” a senior party leader said.

The much-awaited meeting evoked the expected reactions from the OPS and Dhinakaran factions. Panneerselvam himself welcomed the move and said the EPS camp has “crossed half way” and that he was waiting for it to complete the journey.

For the first time, Panneerselvam indicated that the merger efforts could see the light of the day when he said any decision on unification would keep in mind the “aspirations and wishes of the cadre.”  

On his part, Dhinakaran rejected EPS camp' resolution saying no one has the right to remove him from the post of deputy general secretary.

He also wondered how the Palanisamy camp could comment against Sasikala when they themselves had furnished an affidavit to the EC, endorsing her appointment as party chief.  

The resolution was hard-hitting on Dhinakaran as it noted that late Jayalalithaa expelled him from the party in 2011 and his re-induction into the AIADMK in February 2017 was in violation of the party bylaws, since he failed to continue as primary member for five years.

Another significant aspect of the resolution signed by 27 office bearers, including Palanisamy, is that it did not use the honorific of 'Chinamma' to refer Sasikala, as was the practice in the past.

“When office-bearers appointed by Puratchi Thalaivi Amma are leading the party in unison, appointments made by him (Dhinakaran) with intent to create confusion in the AIADMK will not bind the party cadres. Since the appointments are not legal in accordance with the bylaws of the party constitution, party cadres are request to reject such statements,” the resolution said.