Sources in the O. Panneerselvam faction of the AIADMK said that the floundering efforts to reunite the party had reached a tipping point on Saturday before being saved by a goodwill gesture from the other side.
Mr. Panneerselvam was scheduled to address a press conference on Saturday morning at his official residence on Greenways Road. According to a senior leader of his faction, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the former Chief Minister was supposed to “bring some closure” to the merger efforts. However, the event was postponed, and later, cancelled.
The senior leader, who refused to elaborate on what closure meant, said that the press conference was called off because the other side took some initiatives to show they were inclined to fulfil the Panneerselvam-camp’s two preconditions for talks. “After some false starts, there are some green shoots. We will follow them up to their logical conclusion,” said the leader. Mr. Panneerselvam wants the expulsion of V.K. Sasikala and T.T.V. Dhinakaran from the party; he also wants a CBI enquiry into the death of Jayalalithaa.
Multiple individuals in the Panneerselvam-camp blamed the other side, currently led by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami for the talks not beginning officially. The two committees formed to coordinate the merger are yet to meet. These individuals claimed that the other camp was yet to speak in a united voice.
However, there were conflicting statements from within the Panneerselvam camp, too. “The other side says the family [of V.K. Sasikala] has been sidelined. After that, they are obtaining affidavits supporting them [Sasikala and nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran]. You know it is a drama,” said V. Maitreyan, Rajya Sabha member and a leader of Mr. Panneerselvam’s faction.
On the other hand, C. Ponnaiyan, also an O. Panneerselvam supporter, said that talks will proceed smoothly. “You have to see the merger talks and the filing of affidavits before the Election Commission for the Two Leaves symbol as separate issues. Once the merger is complete, the issue before the Election Commission will automatically lapse,” he said.
