In a major victory for Edappadi K Palaniswami, the Madras High Court on 28 March 2023 dismissed all petitions challenging the elections to the appointment of former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami as the party’s General Secretary. O. Panneerselvam (OPS) and his supporters PH Manoj Pandian, R Vaithilingam and JCD Prabhakaran had sought a stay on the General Secretary elections and challenged the resolutions passed by the General Council meeting held on 11 July 2022.
Justice K Kumaresh Babu dismissed the petitions, saying there was no reason to entertain the applications, which sought to prevent the AIADMK from implementing resolutions that abolished the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator and reinstated the post of general secretary.
Following the court’s orders, AIADMK Election Officers Natham Viswanathan and Pollachi Jayaraman proclaimed Edappadi Palaniswami to be the party’s new General Secretary.
Following the passing of former chief minister and party general secretary J Jayalalithaa, this is the first time the party has a general secretary with absolute authority.
With this, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) has emerged as the undisputed general secretary of the party founded by MG Ramachandran.
Though the O Panneerselvam faction will challenge this order, the chances of obtaining a reprieve are slim. While the legal battle will keep taking its course, what are the political options for O. Panneerselvam?
Election Commission
Though EPS was successful in defeating the OPS faction in all judicial cases, when it comes to election matters, the Election Commission, a constitutional body, will have the ultimate say. The RK Nagar by-election is a prime illustration. Though TTV Dinakaran, under the guidance of Sasikala, had the support of the majority of MLAs and MPs when the by-election was announced first, the Election Commission said that it does not have time to read all the affidavits filed by both Sasikala and OPS faction, and thus froze the symbol.
The scenario is no different here. The Election Commission website still lists OPS as the AIADMK Coordinator. Even for the Erode East by-elections, the Election Commission suggested an approach to select a candidate that it said would only apply to that election.
Therefore the OPS faction has a glimmer of optimism left in the Election Commission.
Play Spoilsport
TTV Dhinakaran, the leader of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, played spoiler in the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, securing 10 lakh plus votes and preventing ADMK’s victory in 21 plus seats in the elections. According to the poll findings, this harmed the AIADMK not only in the south and central regions, but also in a few pockets in the north.
AIADMK was able to reduce TTV Dhinakaran’s impact in the South and Delta region with the support of OPS, who belongs to the same community as TTV Dhinakaran and also enjoys the trust of the Devendra Kula Vellalar community. OPS demonstrated his closeness to PM Modi, for whom that community has unilateral support.
If OPS joins forces with TTV Dhinakaran, the ADMK will suffer a double blow in the Southern and Delta region, as they will lose both Thevar and Devendira Kula Vellalar votes.
It is worth noting that even OPS stated that if necessary, he will join forces with Dhinakaran after the Supreme Court upheld in February 2023 an order by the Madras High Court allowing his friend-turned-foe EPS to stay as the AIADMK’s interim general secretary.
New Venture
Joining TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK would be political suicide because it would admit that his vote bank would be less than TTV Dhinakaran’s 2.5%. If OPS believes he is a pan-Tamil Nadu leader, he should contest in all 40 Tamil Nadu constituencies in the forthcoming 2024 parliamentary elections, by launching a new party.
However, OPS’s public display of character has demonstrated that he is unfit to start a new party because it would necessitate a large outlay of his own funds. Ever since the feud between EPS and OPS came to public, EPS has been very active in his political life by conducting large public gatherings and meetings, which needs a large chunk of money. OPS on the other hand hasn’t proved himself to be a fighter, except for spending for his lawyer and court fees.
OPS holding an alternative general body meeting with their supporters and claiming that his general body meeting is legitimate when EPS is holding a general body meeting with his supporters is common knowledge in politics. However, OPS did nothing of the sort, demonstrating that he is unwilling to give a befitting fight. Hence, OPS is unlikely to launch a party to take on his adversary Edappadi Palanisamy.
Other Options
Other low-probability choices for OPS include joining BJP to chart a new path, reaching a truce with EPS and staying within ADMK albeit under the latter, or gracefully retiring from politics. OPS joining the BJP will bring value to the party because it will have a Thevar face with no negative votes. OPS joining ADMK under EPS is also not out of the question, as he stated in the past that even his dead body must be wrapped in ADMK flag when a controversy arose a few years ago about him joining BJP.
Whichever path he chooses to go, he has to accept that he has lost his ground in the AIADMK.
OPS may have lost this battle but he may not let EPS win the war.
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