Hectic parleys are on between the Amma and the Puratchi Thalaivi Amma factions of the AIADMK to find an amicable agreement for merger after a last-minute hiccup on Friday.
Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami told the media that discussions are progressing and a good announcement will be made soon. For the first time since he revolted against VK Sasikala, O Panneerselvam told reporters on Saturday, “A good decision will be taken soon. We will not let down the party cadre and our well wishers.”
But the chieftains in the PTA faction have genuine reservations about the post-merger scenario and how the Amma faction would accommodate them. Many leaders who opted to cast their lots with Panneerselvam are insisting that the Thevar leader from Theni should be made the Chief Minister as he had held the post three times at the instance of Jayalalithaa. “How can a person who put in exemplary tenure thrice as Chief Minister could be accommodated as an ordinary Minister,” asked one of the leaders on condition of anonymity.
But it there is no possibility of Palaniswami yielding to that demand. “The general impression is that the Thevar community has an upper hand in the AIADMK. Since the party was launched in 1972 they had occupied most of the cabinet berths while the Gounder community (to which Palaniswami belongs) was forced to play a second fiddle. The Gounders are very strong in south-west Tamil Nadu where the AIADMK had registered impressive wins in the Assembly elections in 2011 and 2016. I doubt whether they would give away the chief ministership to OPS,” said a veteran scribe in Chennai.
K Pandiarajan, former Minister and a prominent leader of the OPS faction said the talks about positions are all rumours. “You wait for a couple of days and you will definitely get a good news,” he told The Pioneer. Grapevine is that veteran Semmalai and Pandiarajan of the OPS faction would be inducted into the Council of Ministers.
Interestingly, MPs belonging to both the factions are praying for a speedy merger because the AIADMK would be inducted into the NDA post-merger and some ministerships in the Union Council of Ministers are also on the anvil.
The faction led by TTV Dinakaran, the axed deputy general secretary is watching the goings on with amusement. Despite the media hype over news about the merger, 10 MlAs called on Dinakaran in his Adyar residence on Saturday.
“The merger process got hastened following the Melur rally addressed by Dinakaran on Monday. Both the factions got scared after seeing the crowd which came to listen to Dinakaran,” said Nanjil Sampath, a close aide of Dinakaran.
“I doubt whether the OPS and EPS factions could sail smoothly without the cooperation of Dinakaran. He is the person to watch in the AIADMK and is a sure chief ministerial candidate. His statement that there are sleeper cells of MlAs in both the OPS and EPS factions is to be noted seriously,” said KA Johny, author, columnist and an AIADMK observer.