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This is an archive article published on May 2, 2017

E Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam merger talks hit last-minute hurdles, may collapse

Talks between O Panneerselvam faction and the ruling AIADMK camp are on the verge of collapse. The former chief minister recently said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and TTV Dinakaran are comrades in arms.

O Panneerselvam, OPS Election Commission, AIADMK symbol, Panneerselvam AIADMK Symbol, E Palanisamy AIADMK, Two leaf symbol AIADMK, RK Nagar bypolls, OPS candidate RK Nagar, Sasikala Natarajan, Panneerselvam Sasikala, India news Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (C), AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP V Maitreyan (R) and senior party leader E Madhusudhanan during a press conference. (PTI Photo)

Talks between O Panneerselvam faction and the ruling AIADMK camp are on the verge of collapse. The former chief minister recently said that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and TTV Dinakaran are comrades in arms. The two factions were close to a merger but one of the main preconditions set by OPS was the expulsion of ruling party general secretary VK Sasikala and her nephew and party deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran. The former is serving a sentence in Bengaluru jail while the latter has been booked by the Delhi police for allegedly trying to grease the palms of election commission officials to reclaim the party’s two-leaves symbol for his faction.

OPS and EPS showed bonhomie when talks of the merger came up and senior leaders from both camps claimed the merger was necessary to save the party. However, the talks seem to have changed track and there seems to be a loss of faith between OPS and the chief minister.

OPS claimed that members of the ruling faction had not taken back the affidavits they submitted to the election commission where they chose her as the party’s general secretary. He contended that it was one of the most important preconditions and if they weren’t met, there was no point in holding merger talks. On Monday, OPS claimed that the ruling faction held a meeting of MLAs along with district secretaries, where they were made to sign affidavits in support of Sasikala. He claimed that EPS also signed on the same and questioned how he could trust them in such a scenario. OPS stated that the ruling faction was indulging in drama in the name of merger talks.

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EPS, meanwhile, defended his faction’s stand that OPS had not put any preconditions at first but there are some people who are constantly creating hurdles. He claimed that the faction was open to hold talks for a merger. The EPS camp said that it was unfair to impose conditions before holding talks, especially at a time when there are ongoing cases related to the party symbol, Sasikala’s appointment and, one of his long-standing demands, a CBI probe into Jayalalithaa’s death.

OPS is adamant that his conditions are met. OPS has also announced a mass contact programme that would aim at creating support for the next local body elections and he aims to tour all 32 districts in the state. Meanwhile, EPS camp still enjoys the support of 123 elected MLAs, but defections are a cause of worry as withdrawal of support from six MLAs would bring down his government.

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