Vertical split in ADMK

CHENNAI, May 25: The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam appears to be heading for a split in several states including Tamil Nadu, as ...

CHENNAI, May 25: The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam appears to be heading for a split in several states including Tamil Nadu, as the rival groups led by general secretary J Jayalalitha and expelled dissident leader S Thirunavukkarasu have convened general council meetings here in June in their struggle for supremacy.

Thirunavukkarasu, who had held the position of leader of legislature party and deputy general secretary until his expulsion, had carried the war into the rival camp by bringing seven of the 14-member AIADMK parliamentary party into his fold and creating a vertical split.

Over 300 general council members including Thirunavukkarasu and the seven MPs are stated to have signed a letter on April 24 urging Jayalalitha to convene a meeting of the general council to discuss various organisational matters. This was prior to the expulsion of the leaders.

Story continues below this ad

Thirunavukkarasu on Friday announced that he and several others had convened the general council meeting on June 18, and that invitations were being sent out to the 800-odd council members. On Saturday, Jayalalitha sought to retaliate by calling for the general council meeting on June 5, in an obvious move to pre-empt the Thirunavukkarasu group.

If separate meetings are held, the rival groups are bound to expel the leaders and members belonging to the other faction, thus establishing the split in the party.

Thirunavukkarasu is expected to improve his strength among general council members the moment the leaders expelled from the party earlier decide to regroup and strengthen his hands. Informal discussions were now on between Thirunavukkarasu and the other erstwhile leaders of the AIADMK including those who were ministers in the M G Ramachandran and Jayalalitha cabinets.

The list of those expelled is a long one, and is more useful for the former youth wing secretary of the party than for Jayalalitha, who continues to depend on some hand-picked nominees, now functioning as headquarters’ office-bearers or district secretaries.