AIADMK merger: O Panneerselvam and E Palaniswami.
Former chief minister O Panneerselvam and incumbent Chief Minister E Palaniswamy came together on Monday and formally announced the merger of their two rival factions. Leaders from both the factions held a meeting today afternoon at the party headquarters in Chennai and announced the decision.
Here is a timeline of events that happened in last few months:
December 7, 2016: Senior party leader O Panneerselvam took oath as the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu after the demise of J Jayalalithaa. He was sworn in after midnight by Governor Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhawan amid the presence of party leaders.
December 29, 2016: J Jayalalithaa’s close aide V K Sasikala was appointed as AIADMK’s general secretary, in an unanimous resolution adopted by the party’s general council meeting. After meeting with the Pannerselvam at Poes Garden, Sasikala accepted the party resolution.
February 5, 2017: O Pannerselvam tendered his resignation from the post of Tamil Nadu chief minister, potentially paving way for V K Sasikala to take over the role. In his resignation, OPS cited “personal reasons” for his decision. Two days later, on February 7, Pannerselvam revolted against Sasikala and said he was forced to resign from the post. He further added that if the party workers wish for him to remain as their CM, he will take back his resignation. In retaliation, Sasikala sacked OPS from the post of treasurer. She went on to call him a “traitor”, and said it was her responsibility to bring an end to Panneerselvam’s “wrongdoings”.
February 10, 2016: With Governor Vidyasagar Rao asking the two factions to prove their majority, the Sasikala camp moved 100 AIADMK MLAs to a Golden Bay Resort in Koovathur in a bid to stop them from being poached. It was alleged that Sasikala camp had kept the MLAs “locked up”. The MLAs continued to stay at the resort for more than a week. As news broke out about Sasikala’s conviction, the situation in the AIADMK ruling camp turned tense.
February 16, 2016: Supreme Court convicted Sasikala in a disproportionate assets case, ending her bid to become the chief minister of the state. Two days later, on February 18th, her loyalist Edappadi K Palaniswami was sworn in as Chief Minister of the state, a decision which left the O Pannerselvam camp disappointed. On February 20, he won the trust vote in Tamil Nadu Assembly with 122 MLAs voting from him, while only 11 voting in favour of OPS.
March 22 2017: With the bypoll elections for vacant R K Nagar constituency approaching, both the factions staked claim over the party’s “two leaves” symbol. On March 22, Election Commission froze the party symbol recognising the split in the party. In a statement, EC officials said that neither of the two factions will be able to use the “two leaves” symbol. Amid allegations of both camps bribing the voters, the election body “cancelled” R K Nagar bypoll election slated for April 10.
April 17th: AIADMK General Secretary and Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dinakaran was booked in an alleged bribery case by the Delhi Crime Branch. He was accused of bribing Election Commission officials in a bid to influence them into awarding him the party’s two leaves symbol. Dinakaran was arrested late in the night on April 26, four days after questioning him in the national capital. He was granted bail by a Delhi court on June 1.
April 18, 2017: With TTV Dinakaran facing bribery allegations, the two factions initiated merger talks. At least 25 ministers held an emergency meeting to discuss the possible merger. D Jayakumar, who belongs from OPS faction, in a statement to media, said that their side is open for talks on merger. One of the major condition for OPS faction for a merger was the expulsion of Sasikala and Dinakaran from the party, an issue which derailed the talks.
August 2017: CM Edappadi Palaniswami on August 11 said the appointment of TTV Dinakaran as party’s deputy general secretary was “not acceptable”, thus paving the way for a possible merger between the two factions. Party leaders from both the factions held multiple meetings on August 18, after which the OPS faction said an announcement on the merger will be made on August 21, 2017.
