O Panneerselvam has grown in the ranks of AIADMK, as next in line for succession of leadership. He has been a trustworthy and loyal follower of Amma J. Jayalalitha and after her death, he became defacto head of AIADMK. But he found huge setback with Edappadi Palaniswami rising in ranks and objecting to O Panneerselvam becoming General Secretary. To stabilize party, seniors have advised the faction to dismiss General Secretary post, in the honour of J. Jayalalitha for lifetime. O Panneerselvam became Secretary and Edappadi Palaniswami became Joint Secretary.
Both have even shared Chief Minister post before DMK won in last general elections. After electoral loss, Edappadi Palaniswami and his faction have decided to put a check on O Panneerselvam. They have conducted a general council meeting, on 11th July, 2022 to amend party bylaws and elect Edappadi Palaniswami as interim General Secretary. O Panneerselvam filed a petition in Madras High Court stating that this election and amendments are illegal. Justice Jayachandran ruled in favour of O Panneerselvam in August, 2022.
Edappadi Palaniswami or EPS, filed a petition in Madras High Court challenging this judgement. Division Bench struck off Justice Jayachandran’s judgement and ruled in favour of EPS. O Panneerselvam filed a petition on this Madras High Court judgement in Supreme Court, in September, 2022. After taking it up for arguments, Supreme Court dismissed his plea and ruled that EPS can continue as Interim General Secretary of AIADMK. The faction supporting EPS is celebrating in Chennai while OPS or O Panneerselvam faction is thinking about challenging his leadership in the party.
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