Cold war erupts between EPS and OPS
tnn | Sep 24, 2017, 04:50 IST
Chennai: Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is waging a two-pronged war - one against T T V Dhinakaran and the other against O Panneerselvam - to strengthen his own position within the AIADMK. The fight against Dhinakaran is more open and head-on and the entire state machinery has been unleashed against T T V and a select few MLAs in his camp, whereas, the war against O Panneerselvam is covert and discreet for now.
Sources in the secretariat said OPS was being kept only as a figurehead deputy chief minister, without any power to take decisions. All major decisions in his department have to be routed through Palaniswami. OPS does not even have the freedom to choose officials in his own departments, leave alone influencing others. Certain postings in the police department continue to be a serious bone of contention between OPS and EPS. For instance, OPS was keen on getting a few officials shifted from their current posts for causing trouble to himself and his supporters before the merger of the two factions. Edappadi, however, has shot down the demand because those officials are crucial in his scheme of things. They played a major role in strengthening his position since February.
Panneerselvam, for the time being, has chosen not to precipitate matters further by pressing for his demands, said a source close to him. "His tendency is to wait for the right time to strike. But his supporters are impatient and are putting pressure on him to put his foot down and demand positions for them," he said.
In hind sight, the merger of the two AIADMK factions was a blunder, said a senior leader in the OPS camp. "OPS has been made deputy chief minister and there is a perception that he has been given due recognition. That he is only a figure head is perhaps not known to the outside world. 'Mafoi' K Pandiarajan, who was one of the main votaries of the merger, has been given an insignificant portfolio. Take the case of OPS supporters; before the merger of the two factions, EPS had filled up all party posts, and except K P Munusamy, no one from the OPS camp has been given any party position. The steering committee headed by OPS could have been expanded by inducting more leaders. But EPS has chosen to wait till the EC decides on the party name and symbol," said the leader.
The merger was a dire necessity for both OPS and EPS to stay afloat, especially when they were pitted against a marauding Dhinakaran. "Despite the merger, the cold war between the two continues because OPS was a chief minister in the past and he cannot digest the fact that he is deputy to Edappadi," said political commentator Gnani Sankaran. "Still, since they need to stay together for survival and to fight Dhinakaran, who is a bigger threat, their cold war may not get hot," said Sankaran.
tnn | Sep 24, 2017, 04:50 IST
Chennai: Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is waging a two-pronged war - one against T T V Dhinakaran and the other against O Panneerselvam - to strengthen his own position within the AIADMK. The fight against Dhinakaran is more open and head-on and the entire state machinery has been unleashed against T T V and a select few MLAs in his camp, whereas, the war against O Panneerselvam is covert and discreet for now.
Sources in the secretariat said OPS was being kept only as a figurehead deputy chief minister, without any power to take decisions. All major decisions in his department have to be routed through Palaniswami. OPS does not even have the freedom to choose officials in his own departments, leave alone influencing others. Certain postings in the police department continue to be a serious bone of contention between OPS and EPS. For instance, OPS was keen on getting a few officials shifted from their current posts for causing trouble to himself and his supporters before the merger of the two factions. Edappadi, however, has shot down the demand because those officials are crucial in his scheme of things. They played a major role in strengthening his position since February.
Panneerselvam, for the time being, has chosen not to precipitate matters further by pressing for his demands, said a source close to him. "His tendency is to wait for the right time to strike. But his supporters are impatient and are putting pressure on him to put his foot down and demand positions for them," he said.
In hind sight, the merger of the two AIADMK factions was a blunder, said a senior leader in the OPS camp. "OPS has been made deputy chief minister and there is a perception that he has been given due recognition. That he is only a figure head is perhaps not known to the outside world. 'Mafoi' K Pandiarajan, who was one of the main votaries of the merger, has been given an insignificant portfolio. Take the case of OPS supporters; before the merger of the two factions, EPS had filled up all party posts, and except K P Munusamy, no one from the OPS camp has been given any party position. The steering committee headed by OPS could have been expanded by inducting more leaders. But EPS has chosen to wait till the EC decides on the party name and symbol," said the leader.
The merger was a dire necessity for both OPS and EPS to stay afloat, especially when they were pitted against a marauding Dhinakaran. "Despite the merger, the cold war between the two continues because OPS was a chief minister in the past and he cannot digest the fact that he is deputy to Edappadi," said political commentator Gnani Sankaran. "Still, since they need to stay together for survival and to fight Dhinakaran, who is a bigger threat, their cold war may not get hot," said Sankaran.
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