EPS beats OPS in party founding day publicity blitz too

More than the separate meetings, what raised many eyebrows was that the priority given to the Chief Minister in the posters of the public meeting organised by the party, which is headed by Panneerselvam, who is the coordinator. 

Though, Palaniswami alone is attending the meeting, the posters carried the photos of both the leaders and stated that the party had organised the function as per their directions. The name of Palaniswami, who is the joint coordinator, is mentioned first followed by the coordinator Panneerselvam, although his designation is higher in the party hierarchy. 

Previously, when Palaniswami’s name was given importance in the MGR centenary celebrations organised by the government, it was reasoned that the Chief Minister’s name must be given importance in government functions. During the merger of Panneerselvam’s and ruling factions, it was agreed that Panneerselvam would head the party and Palaniswami the government. 

But, the Chief Minister had been given more importance in posters and advertisements issued by the official Kancheepuram district party unit itself. Party leaders dismissed the inferences of divisions between the top two leaders. 

One of the functionaries said, “It is not necessary that both the leaders must attend the founding day celebrations at the same time. They can fan out to different places on the same day and meet more people. The names of both the leaders have been given prominence and they appear side by side. Panneerselvam’s name is not below that of the Chief Minister.” 

People around Tambaram are expecting the Chief Minister to come out with announcements of desilting of water bodies and removal of encroachments on water canals. The areas around Tambaram were inundated two years ago and the people are looking up for solutions from the Chief Minister just before the onset of monsoon. However, the water canals taking the lake water to Adyar river remain encroached upon at many places and that was the reason for the floods last time.