Finally, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is without its deeply polarising figure , the interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala . As a close friend of Jayalalithaa, she had played a major role in the party’s affairs for more than 25 years, evoking both fear and loyalty among the party’s second line of leaders. Her removal was the precondition set by the O. Panneerselvam faction of the party for a merger, a first step before the party could reclaim its original identity and flag and election symbol. Whether the faction led by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami adopted this course out of political necessity or out of a genuine desire to keep Sasikala out of the party’s affairs is now immaterial: the break with the Sasikala family is real. The consequences of her removal at the meeting of the general council of the party will be immediate: greater political legitimacy for the ruling faction’s claim to be truly representative of the party’s organisational support base and increased isolation of the Sasikala clan from the party. While there are many in the party, including ministers, who still sympathise with Sasikala, or feel a sense of gratitude towards her, the party will no longer be remote-controlled by the ‘Mannargudi clan’. The newly evolved collective leadership in the party, with Mr. Panneerselvam as the coordinator and Mr. Palaniswami as the co-coordinator, and the abolition of the powerful post of general secretary, will be resistant to the influence of Sasikala and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
However, the Sasikala group under the leadership of Mr. Dhinakaran commands the overt support of at least 18 members of the Assembly, enough to pull down the government. They have been hesitant to form themselves as a breakaway group either for fear of being disqualified for defection or in the hope that they might be able to capture the leadership of the parent party. The general council meeting could only have accentuated the differences with the Dhinakaran group. A reconciliation is close to impossible now, although Sasikala has not been expelled from the party. The changed equations within the ruling party, which no longer appears to enjoy the confidence of a majority in the House, should force Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao out of his inaction. Mr. Palaniswami should seek another vote of confidence as, even by the admission of his own camp he is well short of an absolute majority in the Assembly. The political gains from the merger of the two camps notwithstanding, Mr. Palaniswami might have risked the stability of his own government by patching up with Mr. Panneerselvam. Just as he ties up one end, things are beginning to unravel at the other.
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