AIADMK Puducherry unit has split loyalties

Puducherry: The AIADMK Puducherry leadership appears divided over the issue of the ongoing tussle between Sasikala and O. Panneerselvam. The dissent came out in the open on Sunday with senior party leader and former Rajya Sabha member  P. Kannan tendering  his resignation from the AIADMK hours after Sasikala Natarajan was elected by AIADMK MLAs to take over as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Mr Kannan said that the political development was going from bad to worse. Another party leader and former AIADMK legislator Om Sakthi Sekar came in support of O. Paneerselvam on Tuesday night. Talking to newspersons here  Mr Sekar said that AIADMK Puducherry unit will extend its support to  Paneerselvam.”Amma (Jayalalithaa) chose Paneerselvam as her political heir.” he said and left for Chennai on Wednesday.

At the same time, AIADMK state secretary P. Purushothaman maintained that there is no split in the party unit and what Om Sakthi Sekar said was not the official decision of the party unit. “Mr Sekhar who is not at all holding any post in the party here have no right to announce the support of the local unit to Mr OPS. Action will be initiated against Mr Sekar”, he said.  ,

Calling the statement of  Mr Sekar 'childish one' AIADMK legislator party leader A. Anbazhagan said that Mr Sekar did not have any right to announce the official decision of the AIADMK Puducherry unit. “Whatever going on now is an internal issue of AIADMK, and this will be sorted out soon,” Mr Anbazhagan told Deccan Chronicle.