The AIADMK’s rebel camp, led by deposed coordinator O. Panneerselvam, on July 16 accused interim general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami of having “undermined” the position of Mr. Panneerselvam during the 2021 Assembly election.
Kovai K. Selvaraj, spokesperson of the rebel camp, said that in the run-up to the election, Mr. Palaniswami had “unilaterally” assigned the task of seat-sharing to former Ministers S.P. Velumani and P. Thangamani. “He did not respect Mr. Panneerselvam or anyone else in the party. Mr. Panneerselvam tolerated the treatment meted out to him as he did not want the party to suffer at the time of the election,” he said.
As the Election Commission had “not recognised” the resolutions adopted at the general council meeting held on July 11, Mr. Palaniswami could not be considered the interim general secretary. Consequently, he did not have the “authority” to expel anyone from the party or appoint anyone to any post, Mr. Selvaraj said.
Meanwhile, AIADMK MLAs will meet at a star hotel in Chennai on Sunday evening. They are expected to be advised to vote for the National Democratic Alliance’s nominee, Draupadi Murmu, in the presidential election scheduled for July 18.
