CHENNAI: Caught amidst the twin storms of severe electoral setbacks and an escalating internal rebellion, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is making hectic attempts to retain his absolute hold over the party ahead of the mandatory year-end general council meeting.
The immediate battleground is set for November 1, when the former Chief Minister will chair a crucial meeting of party district secretaries at the AIADMK headquarters here.
Observers view this gathering as a litmus test for his leadership following the party's disastrous third-place finish in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly by-elections earlier this month - the seats the AIADMK had won in the general assembly polls in April this year.
The unprecedented political rise of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which relegated the principal opposition party - the DMK - to the margins in those segments, has shattered the AIADMK’s rank and file to a distant third place, emboldening internal critics.
Senior functionaries, including former state ministers C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani have reportedly voiced strong discontent regarding the current leadership's strategic direction and have been demanding that the leadership immediately convene a meeting of the party to take stock of the changing political developments.
Compounding the crisis is a full-blown legislative mutiny. A bloc of dissident AIADMK MLAs, who broke ranks to support the TVK government during a recent assembly trust vote on May 13, are now actively contemplating moving the Assembly Speaker to recognise them as a separate group within the Assembly house, say sources.
In a pre-emptive bid to neutralise the brewing revolt, Palaniswami has engineered a rapid and extensive reshuffle of the party's district-level functionaries, replacing fence-sitters with fierce loyalists. The general secretary aims to secure a compliant majority among the district secretaries, who wield immense influence over the composition of the party's General Council.
The upcoming November 1 meet is designed to set the agenda for the broader Executive Committee and General Council sessions required to be held by December.
Insiders reveal that Palaniswami will use the platform to enforce strict party discipline, evaluate the loyalty of local leaders, and draft resolutions to project an image of absolute authority.
The meeting convened by Palaniswami will also determine whether the party will officially slam the door on expelled rebels or consider a strategic reconciliation to stave off further erosion.
A release from the party quoting the general secretary said a meeting has been convened on November 1 and all district secretaries should attend the meeting without fail.