CHENNAI: Leader of AIADMK breakaway faction O Panneerselvam on Friday announced a meeting of its senior functionaries, including district secretaries on August 20, the same day Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK have proposed to hold a conference at Madurai.
In a statement, Panneerselvam said that a meeting of “AIADMK’s headquarters functionaries” and district secretaries would be held at YMCA Auditorium in Vepery on August 20.
“The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of party political advisor ‘Panruti’ Ramachandran, Panneerselvam announced, appealing to his functionaries to turn up for the showdown without fail.
The Madurai meeting is the first state conference to be conducted by the AIADMK ever since Edappadi K Palaniswami consolidated his position in the party and became its general secretary, dealing a big blow to the faction led by OPS who has been staking a claim for the party and its leadership since the split in June 2022. Panneerselvam continues to call himself the coordinator and treasurer of the party, a post held by him during the dual leadership period following the ouster of V K Sasikala in August 2017 after the demise of J Jayalalithaa in December 2016.