EPS under siege, AIADMK rebels mull move to convene special general council

Chennai: The rebellion within AIADMK is gathering momentum, with a faction led by C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani exploring provisions in the party bylaws to challenge the leadership of general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. The dissident group is considering invoking the AIADMK by-law under which the general secretary is bound to convene a special general council meeting within 30 days of receiving a request from at least one-fifth of the general council members."A few members of the faction are set to join the cabinet led by C Joseph Vijay next week even as a petition filed by Edappadi K Palaniswami, seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law, is pending before assembly speaker J C D Prabhakar," a senior leader told TOI. Governor R V Arlekar is expected to arrive in Chennai on Friday night.Operating out of Shanmugam's office in Chennai's MRC Nagar, the rebel faction has intensified efforts to gather signatures from general council members across Tamil Nadu. Sources told TOI that the group is preparing the ground to unseat Palaniswami as party chief, blaming his "unilateral decisions" for AIADMK's electoral performance.The rebels want an open review of the party's crushing defeat in the recent assembly election, in which AIADMK managed to win only 47 seats and slipped to third position, losing the leader of opposition status for the first time in decades. Party insiders described it as AIADMK's worst performance since 1996. "TN politics is witnessing the rise of a younger generation of leaders such as Vijay, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Anbumani Ramadoss, K Annamalai and Seeman. AIADMK leadership too needs a generational shift," a leader said.The dissidents are unhappy that Palaniswami refused to give up his chief ministerial ambitions earlier, when discussions were reportedly underway for projecting Thol Thirumavalavan as a consensus CM candidate with backing of DMK. The rebels have been meeting frequently at Shanmugam's office to chart their next course of action.Former minister K C Veeramani defended his decision to back TVK during the trust vote. "Remaining in the opposition for another five years would serve no purpose. Supporting the govt will benefit both public and party cadre," he said. Veeramani, who held the post of district secretary, expressed disappointment that the newly appointed district secretary failed to engage with him despite invitation.