The nine month-old Edappadi Palaniswamy government in Tamil Nadu could fall down anytime from now as it has been proved that all is not well in the merged faction of the AIADMK. It was on August 21, 2017, the two factions owing allegiance to Palaniswami and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam decided to bury the hatchet and merge against the common enemy, VK Sasikala and her family.
On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu woke up to a chilling social media posting by Dr V Mythreyan, MP and the close confidant of Panneerselvam. “It has been three months since the OPS and EPS factions merged. Months have gone but have the hearts synchedIJ,” asked Dr Mythreyan, an oncologist-turned-politician.
Dr Mythreyan was the first senior AIADMK leader who declared his solidarity with Panneerselvam when the latter revolted against the Sasikala family in February 2017 and came out with details of the shady deals pursued by the Mannargudi family.
“The words I have written in the posting reflect the mindset of the leaders and cadres,” Dr Mythreyan told The Pioneer. He also pointed out that there was no unity among the cadres as well as the leaders. “The second rung leaders of the OPS faction get a raw deal from the EPS faction. While Panneerselvam and Ma Foi Pandiarajan were made Ministers in the Palaniswamy Cabinet, senior leaders in the OPS camp continue to be used as a crowd for meetings convened by Palaniswamy,” said Dr Mythreyan, a leader who is known for speaking his mind.
A senior leader belonging to the Panneerselvam camp told The Pioneer that he as well as the entire OPS faction leaders were in total agreement with what Dr Mythreyan has written and said. “The major beneficiaries of the merger are Palaniswamy and his faction leaders. Before the August 21 merger, the EPS faction was seen as a motley crowd of buffoons and jokers. They gained respectability only after the merger of the factions,” said the leader who did not want his name to be quoted.
According to the deal worked out prior to the merger, the Palaniswamy faction would have an upperhand in running the Government and Panneerselvam would be the general secretary of the party. “But the last general council abolished the post of general secretary once and for ever and offered Panneerselam the post of coordinator. What has happened now is that both the Government and party are under the control of Palaniswamy,” disclosed the leader.
He also pointed out that the Palaniswamy Government was surviving in office only because of the support of the OPS faction. “Though TTV Dinakaran walked away with the 18 MlAs pushing Palaniswamy Government to a minority one, we only resuscitated it with our support. But the Chief Minister and others in his faction continue to call the shots while we were kicked around like footballs,” said the leader who has been standing like a rock behind Panneerselvam .
The leader also blamed Palaniswamy for organising the MGR centenary meetings all over Tamil Nadu under the auspices of the State government. “This is a tacit move by Palaniswamy because he knows too well that the cadre would participate in the centenary meetings only if Panneerselvam is around. No party cadre would have taken part in the meetings if Panneerselvam is not around. It is to neutralise the Panneerselvam factor that the centenary meetings are being held under the auspices of the government,” he said.
Panneerselvam, accompanied by Dr Mythreyan and K P Munuswamy had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 12 to convey the faction’s disappointment over the treatment meted out to them by Palaniswamy faction. If the discontentment among the OPS camp on Tuesday is any indication, things have reached a point of no return in the AIADMK.