Rival factions of AIADMK merge; Panneerselvam sworn-in as deputy CM
21 August, Chennai
In a significant development in Tamil Nadu politics, the warring factions of the AIADMK led by chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy and his predecessor O Panneerselvam were merged together Monday.
Both the leaders flanked by their supporters visited the party headquarters in Chennai and formally announced the unification which came after a bitter split about six months ago. The unification follows the understanding arrived at by them following marathon parleys.
Palaniswami said, Mr Paneerselvam will be AIADMK’s coordinator while he will be the joint coordinator. He said, the merger was not only the desire of Tamil Nadu people, but also of the AIADMK cadres.
Senior leader belonging to the erstwhile Panneerselvam camp KP Munusamy and the former Palaniswamy camp loyalist Vaithilingam have been named as the Deputy Coordinators of the party.
AIADMK presidium chairman E. Madhusudanan announced that a eleven member steering committee would be announced very soon. The new posts have been created to run the affairs of the party as it was decided earlier not to nominate anyone as its General Secretary, that was held by late leader J Jayalalithaa.
Later, Vaithilingam announced that a resolution would soon be passed seeking to nullify the appointment of VK Sasikala as the party General Secretary.
A similar resolution has already been passed to invalidate the nomination of her nephew TTV Dhinakaran as party Deputy General Secretary.
Following the merger, the Tamil Nadu state cabinet was expanded this evening. Mr Panneerselvam was sworn-in as deputy Chief Minister by Governor Vidyasagar Rao in Raj Bhavan. Finance, Housing, Urban Development and a few other departments have been allocated to him.
Another MLA of the erstwhile Panneerselvam faction ‘Ma Foi’ Pandiarajan was sworn in as the Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture Minister. The strength of the state cabinet has now increased to 33 with the induction of the two new members.
The principal opposition leader in Tamil Nadu MK Stalin has termed the merger as a stageplay being choreographed by the ruling BJP at the Centre.
The PMK Founder Dr Ramadoss has criticised the merger as political opportunism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated O Panneerselvam and other leaders who were inducted in the Tamil Nadu government today.
In a series of tweets, Modi expressed hope that the state will scale newer heights of progress in the years to come. Modi assured all possible support from the Centre to Chief Minister E. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam for the development of the state.