AIADMK presidium chairman E. Madhusudhanan, who was expelled from the party by the rival faction after he joined the Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam faction, wrote to the Election Commission of India on Friday urging it to reject Ms. Sasikala’s appointment as general secretary in December last year.
Insisting that he was the AIADMK’s presidium chairman, Mr. Madhusudhanan cited various sections in the party’s bylaws and contended that the party General Council, which had appointed Ms. Sasikala as the party leader, did not have the power to elect the general secretary. The council has powers only to frame policies and programmes of the party and its implementation.
“As per Rule 43 (of the party bylaw), the General Secretary should be elected only by all the primary members of the party and it cannot be changed or amended since it forms the basic structure of the party bylaw,” he said in his letter.
ADVERTISEMENT
The election of Ms. Sasikala by the General Council as the interim general secretary was not in accordance with the rules and was in complete violation of the AIADMK party bylaws. “The General Secretary shall be elected only by the primary members of all party units of AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere,” he said.