Chennai: After kickstarting the election campaign, the crucial Executive and the General Council meeting of the ruling AIADMK in Tamilnadu, the highest policy level decision taking body of the party, would be held here tomorrow to discuss the strategy to be adopted for the ensuing Assembly elections.
AIADMK coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and jony coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said all the executive and general council members should attend the meeting with a Covid-19 certificate that they have tested negative, by wearing face masks and following physical distancing norms.
The meeting, which should have been convened by the end of December last year, was apparently delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and it would be held at a marriage hall at suburban Vaanagaram tomorrow, AIADMK sources said.
With the party already announcing incumbent Palaniswami as the CM candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections due in 4-5 months, the General Council was being convened to ratify that decision and give its approval for the same.
Though both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had confirmed that AIADMK’s alliance with BJP would continue for the Assembly polls in the presence of Union Home Minister Amir Shah, the views of the State BJP leaders that its high command alone
would take a call on the CM candidate has created some ripples among the AIADMK cadres.
Though political observers see it as a mere posturing move in a bid to bargain more seats, AIADMK Deputy Coordinator and former Minister, speaking at the party’s campaign launch on 27 December, bluntly told the saffron party that there
was no question of sharing power or giving cabinet berths to allies and that Palaniswami would be the CM candidate in the event of AIADMK winning the polls.
He also said the BJP could rethink its options if it did not agree to this.
The General Council meeting was also expected to deliberate on the matter, while devising the strategy for a hat-trick of wins, when the victory streak started in 2011.
The meeting to be presided by party presidium chairman E Madhusudhananan, would also ratify the formation of a 11-member steering committee constituted on October
seven last year when the CM candidate was announced.
It may be recalled that after protracted parleys the AIADMK had on October seven last year projected Palaniswami as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections.
After Palaniswami announced the formation of the 11-member steering committee to guide the party in the polls, which included six members from his side and five representing OPS’s side, Panneerselvam formally announced the CM candidate of the
AIADMK.
“I am happy to announce that our dear brother Palaniswami will be the victorious Chief Ministerial candidate of the AIADMK for the 2021 Assembly polls,” he said.
He said, “in the 2021 Assembly polls, AIADMK will project Mr Palaniswami as the Chief Minister,” bringing to an end the protracted intra-party tussle on the issue that began on the Independence Day.
After projecting Jayalalithaa in the 1991 polls, this is for the first time the AIADMK will be facing the polls by projecting a Chief Minister candidate.
The formation of the steering committee was the OPS’s long-pending demand for the merger of factions after the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and it remained the bone of contention between the two camps.