Chennai: E. Palaniswami was elected as AIADMK's interim General Secretary, in the General Council meeting in Vanagaram. AIADMK General Council adopted resolutions for reviving the general secretary post and to make sure to elect a person for the post by the primary members of the party.
The Madras High Court on Monday permitted the AIADMK general council meeting, called by party coordinator E Palaniswami, to be held today to determine the future leadership structure of the party. This was a setback for AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam amid a leadership tussle in the party.
The High Court denied O Panneerselvam's (OPS) request to halt the meeting that would have reinstated the position of interim general secretary and eliminated the position of joint coordinator. The court issued its order at 9 am even though the meeting was supposed to start at 9:15 am.
The party has been operating under a dual leadership structure since Jayalalithaa's passing in 2016, with EPS serving as co-coordinator and OPS as coordinator. Since the district secretary meeting on June 14 of this year, the call for a single leader of the party has become increasingly stronger.
In contrast to OPS, EPS has a much larger number of party MLAs and district secretaries on its side, and at today's meeting, it is anticipated that the dual leadership system will be abolished and EPS will be promoted to the position of general secretary. In the meantime, supporters of the EPS and OPS factions engaged in street combat prior to the court's decision.
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