Forces of union to act on AIADMK after August 1

Both factions expect Election Commission of India to take its call on the validity of VK Sasikala’s election as general Secretary.

CHENNAI: Just as the August 5 deadline set by T T V Dhinakaran to play an active role in the ruling AIADMK is fast approaching, undercurrents in both factions of the AIADMK seem to be getting stronger. Reliable sources in both factions say key developments on the merger front will occur after August 1.

One of the founding members of the party who is no longer holding any post indicated the impetus could come from the Election Commission. Both factions submitted around 10 lakh affidavits from grassroots-level functionaries regarding the dispute over the Two Leaves symbol as well as to whom they owe their allegiance. He claimed the EC could take up the dispute on the appointment of the party general secretary first and give its ruling; the party symbol issue can wait since it would take months to check the veracity of the lakhs of affidavits filed by both factions.

If the EC nullifies the election of V K Sasikala as general secretary, then all decisions taken by her including appointing Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary would be void and create the space for merger. Recently, K C Palaniswami, key leader of the O Panneerselvam-led rebel group, met Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and put forth certain proposals for the merger.
Sources said the discussions were regarding the modalities for withdrawing the petitions filed by both factions before the EC and who would get what in the party and the government as part of the merger package without loss of face.  

However, Kavundampalayam  MLA Arukutty recent defection to the ruling camp has caused unease in the OPS group. Ever since, Panneerselvam has been interacting with his supporters more frequently to keep his flock together.  

On Thursday, Team Panneerselvam met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madurai. This was their second meeting within three days. For the record, Panneerselvam, who had earlier claimed that Modi wanted two factions to merge, denied any politics in his recent meetings, but the grapevine has it that the AIADMK factions have been advised to merge at the earliest.    

On the Dhinakaran front, the death of his mother-in-law may cause some lull in his activities for a few days. But he is constantly in touch with the MLAs and MPs who are supporting him. Dhinakaran has already claimed he has has been briefed by Sasikala on the next steps once the August 5 deadline is over.

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