EPS to undertake state tour against DMK’s misrule

CHENNAI: The newly anointed general secretary of the AIADMK, Edappadi K. Palaniswami will soon be undertaking a statewide yatra against the 'misrule' of the DMK government.

While the announcement has not come in the open, sources in the opposition party told IANS that the EPS has decided to undertake the yatra from July end and would be attacking the DMK government.

It is to be noted that Palaniswami has emerged as the single leader of the AIADMK after the party general council meeting on July 11 had appointed him as the interim general secretary of the party. This has brought to an end the dual leadership of the party led by Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam after the demise of party supremo and former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

Sources in the AIADMK told IANS that rather than attacking DMK, the main intention of the yatra is to test waters at the ground level after the expulsion of O. Panneerselvam from the party. With Panneerselvam, V.K. Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran, all prominent Thevar leader, out of AIADMK, the party has shrunk its traditional support base of the Thevar community which has been its mainstay in Southern Tamil Nadu.

In a public programme at Salem on Friday, Edappadi K. Palaniswami has given enough hints that the party will be lashing out against the DMK. He had said that the Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin was using his powers to cripple the AIADMK and that the party wont allow that. He said that the government had sealed the party headquarters in Chennai citing clashes between the two factions and added that it was a move of the DMK government to try and sideline the AIADMK.

The days ahead in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu would be interesting with EPS embarking on a yatra to fan up support and to attack DMK and OPS and his close aides trying to use courts and the Election Commission of India to gain a foothold in the party.