With a section of the AIADMK raising its voice for unitary leadership in the party, the party went into a huddle. And it was eventually decided a day after the meeting that neither their official spokespersons nor any sympathisers of their party should air their views before the media. Chief Minister and Deputy Coordinator of the party Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister and party Coordinator O Panneerselvam asked party spokespersons not to speak to the media or post messages in their social media accounts about the party till the high command makes an announcement, and even warned them of disciplinary action.
AIADMK MLA Rajan Chellappa held a press conference in Madurai recently in which he called for a stable, single leadership in the party. Speaking to the media at his MLA office in Madurai, the leader criticised the dual leadership of the party and asked why the general council had not yet been convened to discuss the party’s poor performance in the recent parliamentary elections. He was backed by Kunnam MLA Ramachandran.
However, State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar has said only time will decide on whether the party required a unitary leadership. He added that everyone in the party must realise this danger and stay united under the coordinator and joint coordinator and discuss party affairs only internally and not in public. With Local body polls around the corner, the AIADMK has to come up with fresh strategies. The recent Lok Sabha poll debacle is not the end of the road.