Heavy hangs the head with a crown

NEW DELHI: The fissures that appeared in the AIADMK’s leadership that has driven a wedge between Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, are set to become starker as the power struggle, which made its way into the Supreme Court, will shortly be tackled by the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) headquarters at Nirvachan Sadan. As many as 2,359 sworn affidavits have been filed by around 95% of the chief Opposition’s general council members, who are in favour of EPS retaining his title as interim general secretary. Their support is crucial, not just in deciding EPS’, but the whole Dravidian party’s fate in the days to come.

The fault lines within AIADMK were laid bare in June, when the party GC, mainly made up of EPS and his loyalists, rejected resolutions previously cleared by OPS. This was also when EPS reiterated his demand for a single leadership in the party, while announcing the next GC meet on July 11. The GC meet that followed ignited a tinderbox, with the passing of a resolution that granted EPS the post of interim general secretary.

Subsequently, OPS, his son P Ravindranath, and his loyalists were booted off from the party. To add insult to injury, in September, a division bench of the Madras High Court set aside a single judge order that favoured OPS’s leadership. Recently, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi, wrote to the EPS, the interim general secretary, inviting him to a preparatory meeting of the G20 at Raj Bhavan.

Interestingly, the BJP’s acknowledgment of EPS’s profile as well as the acknowledgment by the ECI, regarding the annual audit financial report submitted by the party’s interim general secretary has earned EPS considerable brownie points as an Opposition leader. Earlier in December, BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan was a participant in an EPS-led agitation in Kovai. Prior to that, in November, EPS greeted PM Modi at Madurai airport, a move interpreted as a mark of his growing proximity to the high command.

But there are a few points that stick out like a sore thumb. The central enforcement agencies have a vice-like grip over some senior AIADMK members on account of corruption. EPS’s handling of caste dynamics has also come under scrutiny, after he offered plum portfolios to members of the Thevar community. That EPS prevented the situation from spiralling out of control was due to the faith that the Gounder community placed in him. In fact, EPS has since bagged the undying loyalties of former ministers belonging to the Thevar community including Sellur K Raju, R Kamaraj, Natham R Viswanathan, and Dindigul C Srinivasan. It’s a community that OPS once referred to as his stronghold.

Earlier this week, EPS exuded confidence as he exhorted the party’s district secretaries to kick start their preparations for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election on the district and branch level. He even made it clear that his focus was to revitalise the party, while steering clear of giving any undue attention to team OPS. On Wednesday, the National Law Commission sought EPS’s views regarding the conduct of simultaneous elections for Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. His supporters consider this a significant development as EPS was approached in his capacity as the party’s general secretary.

Apart from reining in the party cadre, EPS has been agitating against the ruling party on issues including the eight-lane expressway, NEET exemption, Pongal cash hampers, electricity tariff, property tax revision and rise in milk prices. EPS has a tall order ahead of him – as he maintains a formidable Opposition to the DMK, which has already begun laying the groundwork for its next generation of leaders.