Ousted AIADMK leader Panneerselvam announces expulsion of 44 members

The spate of retaliatory expulsions continued in the AIADMK, with ousted coordinator O Panneerselvam on Friday announcing the removal of another 44 members from the opposite camp, setting off an equal reaction from interim general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami who said he would dismiss 21 state functionaries of the party.

The bout of tit-for-tat removals was triggered after Palaniswami — who enjoys the support of a majority of the general council with Panneerselvam making do with a handful of loyalists — sacked Panneerselvam’s sons P Ravindranath and P Jayapradeep and 16 others from the party on Thursday. "Cadre of the party should not have any contact with the dismissed functionaries," Palaniswami announced in a statement on Thursday. Panneerselvam retaliated with a statement dismissing Palaniswami and several of his coterie, including former minister SP Velumani and P Thangamani, who have been loyal to Palaniswami since the internal challenge in the AIADMK had begun to take shape.

Panneerselvam's ouster was sealed at AIADMK's general council meeting on July 11, when Palaniswami was elected the interim general secretary. The dual leadership structure in place since the death of J Jayalalithaa in December 2016 was dismantled, too. Panneerselvam has appealed to the Supreme Court against the conduct of the July 11 meeting without the consent of party coordinators, after the Madras High Court dismissed his plea. Experts say the winner in the AIADMK attritional war was apparent already.


"EPS has captured the party and has two years to rebuild it for 2024 polls," said N Sathiya Moorthy, the Chennai chief of public policy think tank The Observer's Foundation. The AIADMK remains in an alliance with the BJP, as part of the NDA tie-up struck ahead of the 2019 parliamentary polls. The BJP has kept off the AIADMK battle, with state president K Annamalai terming it an "internal struggle".