Amid leadership tussle between EPS and OPS, AIADMK general council meeting to be held today

The general council meeting of AIADMK will be held on Thursday in Chennai. There has been a tussle regarding the leadership of the party going on between former Tamil Nadu chief minister and party co-coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and his former deputy CM and coordinator O Panneersevelam (OPS).
EPS and OPS

AIADMK co-coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami (R) and coordinator O Panneersevelam (L) (File image)

Photo : ANI
Chennai: The general council meeting of AIADMK will be held on Thursday after the Madras High court refused to restrain the scheduled meeting from amending bylaws. The AIADMK General Council meeting will take place in Chennai. Notably, a single leadership issue is likely to dominate the proceeding.
There has been a tussle regarding the party leadership between former Tamil Nadu chief minister and party co-coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and his former deputy CM and coordinator O Panneersevelam (OPS). Both camps have refused to budge from their stand.
Palaniswami is in favour of single leadership. The former Tamil Nadu CM is keen on passing a resolution in this regard during the meeting. However, Panneersevelam claimed that the general body cannot pass the resolution without his signature. OPS wanted to delay the meeting. The party has been following a dual-leadership formula following the demise of Jayalalithaa in 2016.
EPS is the co-coordinator, while OPS is the coordinator of the party. According to reports, Palaniswani enjoys the support of a large number of party MLAs and district secretaries in comparison to Panneersevelam.
"AIADMK Co-Coordinator Palaniswami will be chosen as AIADMK General Secretary on June 23 in General Council Meeting. We have respect for Panneersevelam but he should understand party cadres. But OPS camp behaviour is like DMK B team. Single leadership is the need for AIADMK," Puducherry State Secretary Anbalagan said as quoted by ANI.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Madaras High Court said that it could not interfere in such issues. AIADMK General Council member Shanmugam filed a petition against the court's order. A division bench of Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice Sunder Mohan will hear the plea.
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