Chennai:After the demise of former CM Jayalalitha, many political changes took place in the AIADMK. OPS (O. Panneerselvam) first assumed the post of Chief Minister, then resigned due to compulsion. After this, OPS started Dharmayutham. Then Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran jointly made Edappadi Palaniswami the Chief Minister.
On February 14, 2017, Sasikala went to jail in a hoarding case. Later T. T. V. Dhinakaran and Edappadi Palaniswami were working as a team, and OPS had another team. Over time, OPS and EPS teams joined when T. T. V. Dhinakaran went to jail in the AIADMK (two leaves) bribery case. Thus, T. T. V. Dhinakaran was left alone and started a party called Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). Then AIADMK was functioning under dual leadership hence there was a criticism that, even though the parties were together, the minds were not.
Both sides occasionally clashed to shore up that criticism. Edappadi Palaniswami completed his rule as the chief minister for almost four years. Later, in the 2021 assembly elections, the AIADMK lost power after winning 66 seats. AIADMK has been criticized for not functioning properly as an opposition party for the past year. In this way, AIADMK was revolving amidst various criticisms.
Sasikala returned to Chennai after completing her jail term before the assembly elections in 2021. Ever since the merger of OPS and EPS, Sasikala was determined not to join AIADMK. After learning about Edappadi's decision, Sasikala announced her resignation from AIADMK. She started her political journey again after the end of the assembly elections. She conducted telephonic discussions with volunteers and spiritual journeys to famous temples in Tamil Nadu.
She is the temporary general secretary who was taken-in in the general assembly held in 2017 and is still the general secretary of AIADMK. Sasikala's case is still going on in court. In the meantime, Edappadi Palaniswami was selected as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK by the General Assembly. Both parties have approached the Election Commission and the Court. In particular, the bank accounts and official responsibilities of the AIADMK are seen to be in the hands of the Election Commission of India.
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It is said that Sasikala is making several attempts to take advantage of this situation, to take over the AIADMK. A few days ago, Sasikala met AIADMK senior executive Panruti Ramachandran. It is noteworthy that OPS met Panruti Ramachandran when the issue of single leadership started. Panruti Ramachandran is said to have given some ideas to Sasikala about taking over the AIADMK.
OPS in AIADMK was seen as a face in southern districts and EPS as a face in western districts. It is said that the selection of EPS as the interim general secretary after eliminating OPS will create a huge thirst in the southern districts. Already, the marginalization of OPS from AIADMK along the lines of Sasikala and T. T. V. Dhinakaran has created a chaotic situation in the southern districts.
Sasikala, T. T. V. Dhinakaran, and OPS are said to be likely to come together in this chaotic situation. It is noteworthy that all the three belong to the same community which could be in the southern districts. While OPS and EPS are functioning as dual leaders, OPS has been making many comments in favor of Sasikala. In 2017, OPS said he was suspicious of late former chief minister Jayalalithaa's death but later said there was no such doubt. Thus, OPS and Sasikala have had many conflicts in the past.
T. T. V. Dhinakaran and Sasikala are not working together now. T. T. V. Dhinakaran had said that Sasikala is the general secretary of AIADMK and he is the general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam. There are conflicts between these three people from the past to the present. On the other hand, a few days ago the incident of OPS supporter and Theni district secretary Syed Khan welcoming T. T. V. Dhinakaran has also taken place. This leads to a chaotic situation.
EPS party is engaged in activities like protesting and reporting against the ruling party. The case related to the public meeting held on July 11 is in court. And the Election Commission of India has not released any official information about single leadership. Uniting the AIADMK amid such confusion seems like Sasikala's biggest challenge.
Talking to us about this, political analyst Marks said, "There are more chances of OPS, Sasikala, and T. T. V. Dhinakaran joining hands. Even if the three join, EPS will not be affected to a large extent. If these three join, it will be like a community merger. Sasikala will bring many senior executives to take over the AIADMK. We have to wait and see to what extent her efforts will pay off. The BJP is using the current position of the AIADMK to grow".
