Chennai: The one-upmanship to wrest control of the AIADMK continued on Friday as the contenders for the throne, Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, indulged in different gamesmanship, including the continuation of the mass expulsions, to establish their supremacy with no quick resolution to the impasse at sight, which left the cadre and workers confused and fuming.
Both leaders purged top leaders in the rival camps, a trend that started on Thursday with Panneerselvam expelling 44 top honchos and Palaniswami dismissing 21 functionaries, including Nanjil K S Kollappan, the man who purportedly spoke to C Ponnaiyan over phone and recorded the conversation that went viral.
Pollachi V Jayaraman, C Vijayabaskar, a few MLAs and many other district secretaries were among those thrown out by Panneerselvam, who called himself the coordinator of the party..
Besides the dismissals, Palaniswami also hit the streets, touching base with the grassroots workers as he converted his homeward journey from Chennai to Salem district into a campaign trail.
Leaving his official residence in Greenways Road around 8.30 am after garlanding a portrait of the late K Kamaraj, he took the highway that had a series of pre-planned stopovers and addressed the cadre gathered there.
Palaniswami, in general, told the party workers that the party was now witnessing a rejuvenation and that it should be sustained till the DMK was defeated. He took a swipe at the ‘traitors’ who had joined hands with the DMK to keep the party headquarters doors sealed.
Accusing Chief Minister M K Stalin of misusing his powers to weaken the AIADMK, the newly elected general secretary accepted the reception given to him at various places like Tambaram, Tindivanam, Villupuram, Kallakurichi and so on before reaching his home in Edappadi.
To the cheering crowds that had gathered to welcome him, Palaniswami gave the confidence that the locked up party office would soon be returned to them and that they would be able to resume work from there and take on the DMK effectively.
An organization secretary of the party, Adhirajaram, had also written a letter to the police seeking the withdrawal of personal security cover to Panneerselvam. His charge was that the protection given to him on a personal basis was misused to unleash a violent attack on the party headquarters on July 11.
On the other hand, a close confidante of Panneerselvam said that moves were afoot in their camp to convene an alternative general council and pass necessary resolutions that could be handed over to the courts and the Election Commission of India to gain recognition for their group as the real AIADMK.
Also, Panneerselvam had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s proposed visit to the State on July 28 to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad. Panneerselvam wants the BJP’s intervention into the dispute.
Kovai Selvaraj, another supporter of Panneerselvam, referring to the expulsion of 44 leaders from the party in the second instalment – 22 leaders were axed on Thursday – said that new office-bearers would be appointed to fill those vacancies.
Particularly peeved with Palaniswami acolyte, R B Udhayakumar, for speaking disparagingly about Panneerselvam, there are plans to lodge a complaint with the DVAC on the former Minister’s alleged amassment of wealth.
