CHENNAI: The tussle for supremacy within the troubled AIADMK played out the realm of law and legislature, and also at the properties owned by the party across the State, on Thursday, with the rebel faction headed by C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani seeking the disqualification of the 22 MLAs belonging to party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, while the police locked several district offices to ensure that rival factions would not fight over possession.
Legal experts cited the 10th Schedule of the Constitution that the law was with Palaniswami, but observers said the final battle for control of the AIADMK is likely to be decided only through the general council.
A day after Palaniswami stripped the rebel leaders of their party posts, senior leader C Vijaya Baskar, whom the 25-member rebel bloc ‘elected’ as whip of the AIADMK legislature party, submitted a representation to Speaker JCD Prabhakar seeking the disqualification of 22 AIADMK MLAs, including Palaniswami, for allegedly voting against the TVK government contrary to the directive issued to party legislators.
The MLAs loyal to Palaniswami also met the Speaker seeking the disqualification of the rebel MLAs who voted in favour of the TVK government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay despite the party leadership’s direction to oppose the confidence motion, and sought Palaniswami’s recognition as the legislature party leader, claiming that he had been duly elected at a meeting of party MLAs last week.
In a statement, Palaniswami defended his decision to remove office-bearers aligned with the rival camp, saying the move was aimed solely at strengthening the party. He accused the rebel MLAs of being “power-hungry” and urged cadres to remain vigilant.
“AIADMK functionaries must be careful. They should not fall into the trap of the former ministers. I am ready to make any sacrifice to ensure the success of the party,” he said.
Speaking to DT Next, senior advocate C Thirumaran cited the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and Articles 102(2) and 191(2), stating that there is no separate legal entity called a “legislature party”. The legislators elected under a political party’s symbol are bound by the directions issued by the authorised leadership of that party, he said.
Under the anti-defection law, MLAs who vote contrary to the directions of the political party or its authorised whip without prior permission can face disqualification if their conduct is not condoned within 15 days, he added.
Thirumaran said for the Shanmugam faction to avoid disqualification proceedings, at least 32 of the 47 MLAs would have to support the faction.
Meanwhile, tensions between the two camps have intensified at the district level. The police are standing guard outside the party headquarters in Chennai, while officials locked officers in Pudukkottai and Erode fearing attempts by newly appointed office-bearers to take control of the premises. Tension also prevailed at AIADMK offices in Coimbatore and Karur.
The party’s assets are administered by a property protection committee appointed by the general council and consisting of six members, including the general secretary, treasurer and presidium chairman. The general secretary is also empowered to initiate legal proceedings concerning party properties.
During the Assembly debate on Wednesday, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged horse-trading by the ruling TVK leadership and claimed that rebel MLAs were offered ministerial berths in return for supporting the government.
His speech directing his party MLAs to vote against the confidence motion is being viewed as a formal whip under Clause 2(b) of the Tenth Schedule, strengthening the case for disqualification proceedings against rebel legislators, said DMK’s Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate P Wilson.
The TVK government’s claimed tally of 144 votes in the confidence motion was legally disputable, he said, arguing that the 26 votes, including those of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs and one AMMK member, could attract disqualification, potentially reducing the effective support for the government to 118.
Amid the escalating crisis, EPS has moved to consolidate his authority over the party. Though the Shanmugam faction continues to formally recognise him as general secretary, Palaniswami has removed 26 office-bearers, including district secretaries and senior functionaries, amid fears of a possible challenge to his leadership.
Under AIADMK party rules, a candidate contesting for the post of general secretary must have been a party member for at least 10 years and served in the headquarters organisation for five years. The candidature must be proposed by 10 district secretaries and seconded by 10 more district secretaries. Party insiders said the recent removal of district-level office-bearers was aimed at preventing any organisational challenge to Palaniswai.
The removed office-bearers have since been replaced with functionaries considered loyal to Palaniswami. However, Shanmugam declared that his faction would not recognise the dismissals and that the removed office-bearers would continue in their earlier positions.
So far, the Shanmugam faction has only announced plans to convene a general council meeting. Under AIADMK rules, the meeting of the council meeting can be convened either by the general secretary and presidium chairman jointly or upon a written request from one-fifth of the council members. The faction has instead urged EPS to convene the meeting.