Even as all eyes are on the AIADMK’s general council meeting, scheduled for Thursday, the camp led by the party’s co-coordinator, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, appears to be well ahead of the group headed by party’s coordinator O. Panneerselvam, in terms of support from the members of the general council and the party functionaries.
While the Palaniswami faction wants the present system of dual leadership to be changed to single leadership, the other is against any change. Members of the former claim that their camp has the support of about 2,500 members of the council, the strength of which is around 2,700. On Wednesday, former MP V. Maitreyan, who was with the Panneerselvam camp until recently, met Mr. Palaniswami and expressed his support for making the co-coordinator the party’s chief.
Veteran member of the party and former Chennai Mayor, Saidai Duraisamy, also called on the co-coordinator. A few more district secretaries of the party switched over to the Palaniswami group. This group also says that its leader has replied to Mr. Panneerselvam, urging him to attend the council meeting.
‘Exercise patience’
Earlier in the day, the co-coordinator, in a tweet, deplored the tendency of the party becoming “dictatorial” and “anarchic.” Counselling party workers to exercise patience, he quoted a Tamil saying that referred to the ultimate triumph of “dharma” over manipulation.
An aide said Mr. Palaniswami was “keen” on shepherding the party to a successful path so that it would become the ruling party again.
A group of Mr. Panneerselvam’s supporters raised slogans backing their leader near the memorial of Jayalalithaa on the Marina.
