Chennai: The stage is now prepared for the merger of two AIADMK factions with the camp led by Prime Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy openly declaring that TTV Dhinakaran, who was appointed Deputy Secretary-General by his aunt VK Sasikala, has no place in the match.
A resolution signed by 26 AIADMK chiefs, including Palanisamy, called on party cadres to ignore the appointments made by Dhinakaran, whom they accused of creating confusion in the party. The resolution also noted that the appointment of Sasikala as Secretary General after J Jayalalithaa’s death has also been challenged before the Election Commission.
“We called Amma as permanent general secretary of AIADMK and we would like to continue our proclamation,” the resolution said.
The main development is that O Panneerselvam will not be the general secretary of the party, but will lead the committee that will take care of the party and coordinate with the government. In the committee, three members of each faction would be nominated.
The merger would form formally after PAHO and EPS met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday. Both leaders are expected to appear before the media on Saturday in Chennai.
Although there are few elements in the party who support Dhinakaran, they will soon be “disciplined,” party members said.
The meeting of ministers and senior leaders was convened on Thursday to elaborate the modalities before finalizing the pact in New Delhi.
The meeting was attended by high-level ministers, including KA Sengottaiyan P Thangamani, SP Velumani, Dindigul C Sreenivasan, D Jayakumar and other key officials.
The BJP leadership has been interested in merging the two factions and has pressed both groups to complete the merger talks as soon as possible. The prime minister said on Monday he expected to see the merger very soon and his comments came after the AIADMK (PTA) complained that the ruling group had shown no interest in the merger.
According to party sources, the merger talks made much progress after AIADMK Deputy Secretary-General Dhinakaran (Amma) made arbitrary appointments for many of his supporters in the party, in addition to launching a campaign travel schedule.
There is intense pressure in both groups as no one wants a general election and wanted to save the government. Dhinakaran had taken the authority to make appointments for the party and said that he had been authorized to make such moves by Sasikala.
