CHENNAI: On February 20, Panneerselvam, the ousted AIADMK coordinator, has scheduled a meeting of his faction's district secretaries and other office holders.

Given that the official AIADMK group, led by former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), has not extended an invitation for them to participate in the campaign, the meeting is being held to consider whether the faction should run for the Erode East bypolls.

Notably, OPS had publicly expressed his support for the AIADMK candidate and declared that he and his backers will advocate for the party's "Two Leaves" symbol. The EPS faction's reaction, though, was muted.

In the Erode East constituency, the OPS faction has several strongholds that could lend support to K.V. Thenarasu, the AIADMK candidate. Although the AIADMK has not publicly remarked on this, officials privately acknowledge that OPS backing is necessary for the election and that BJP state president K. Annamalai has previously negotiated between EPS and OPS for a ceasefire during the by-election.

In Erode East, where the seat has been held by Congress candidate E. Thirumahan Everaa, whose death prompted the by-election, the AIADMK is in a delicate situation. The political party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), led by South Indian super actor Kamal Haasan, has also endorsed the Congress candidate. 

The MNM candidate won the 2021 Assembly elections with more than 10,000 votes. The Congress candidate had won the seat by 8924 votes in the 2021 elections, but the sympathy that followed his passing and the backing of MNM gave EVKS Elangovan, a former Union Minister and the father of the late lawmaker E. Thirumahan Evera, a much-needed advantage.

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