AIADMK MLA VV Rajan Chellappa on Saturday strongly pitched for a single “charismatic” leadership to steer the party, saying the present arrangement of dual power centres impeded quick decisions.
The leader’s remarks come in the backdrop of the party’s dismal performance in Lok Sabha polls.
The AIADMK currently has two top posts of co-cordinator and coordiantor held by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.
Palaniswami, when asked if there was factional fued in the AIADMK (in the backdrop of Chellappa’s single leadership pitch), he said it was “disinformation,” disseminated by Opposition parties and sections of the media.
“If quarrel was true, how come so many cadres are joining the AIADMK from rival outfit AMMK,” the Chief Minsiter shot back. “This is unnecessary, the AIADMK is a robust party,” he told reporters in Salem.
“This is a party of cadres and it is led by workers. All cadres are leaders here,” he said when asked if “dual leadership” was responsible for the dismal Lok Sabha poll performance of his party.
Ruling out any rift, he said the AIADMK Government would successfully complete its full term in 2021 and go on to win the Assembly polls that year.
While Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam declined to react, Senior leader and Forests Minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan said the leadership arrangement was quite good.
Chellappa, a former city Mayor, is the first party leader in recent times to openly bat for naming a single leader to the top party post of general secretary.
Lack of a charismatic leadership after the demise of Amma was also among the reasons for the Lok Sabha poll debacle, he claimed.
The MLA’s demand is perceived to have put the cat among the pigeons in the ruling party where the talk of division in the ranks has emerged again.
After the polls, the AIADMK vigorously wooed cadres who had switched to the rival Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and several of them joined hands with the ruling party recently.
Only P Raveendranath Kumar, son of Panneerselvam, won from Theni Lok Sabha seat, while all other AIADMK nominees lost. Of the 22 Assembly seats where bypolls were held, the ruling party managed to win nine constituencies.
Addressing a press conference, Chellappa, who represents the North Assembly segment here, said he had discussions with several MLAs who also were of the view that the power should be in the hands of one leader.