More power to EPS: ADMK accepts EPS as interim General Secretary...Gates closed for OPS!

For O Panneerselvam (OPS), who was J Jayalalithaa's choice to replace her as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu when she was out of power, the gates of command are now seemingly closed in the ADMK as his rival Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) has acquired more power with the backing of the General Council and the resolutions for his political elevation were passed in the meeting that was held in Chennai on Monday- July 11. 

The meeting has a nail-biting start as it has got a nod to go ahead from the Madras High Court minutes ahead of its commencement. Wasting no further time, the EPS faction has fastened the process of clearing major resolutions in the meeting soon after it began. According to reports, in minutes of the commencement, ADMK has passed 16 major resolutions in its executive council meeting and significantly, the party's General Council has unanimously accepted the elevation of EPS. 

The meeting, which was boycotted by OPS and his faction, has accepted Edappadi Palaniswami as ADMK's interim General Secretary and it has awarded more power to him by removing some from the hands of OPS. These 16 resolutions were read by senior ADMK leader Ponnaiyan and one of the crucial resolutions that got passed is the complete revocation of the posts of Chief Coordinator -held by OPS and Joint Coordinator - held by EPS. 

As both the top posts were historied, EPS has become ADMK's interim General Secretary and the party has also enacted a change in its bylaw and it has removed the clause of keeping Jayalalithaa as the permanent General Secretary, a move which would clear the path for EPS to become the full-time General Secretary by compressing the powers of OPS. In what has become a major blow to OPS, the party has accepted to hand over the powers of Treasurer- held by OPS, to the interim General Secretary.  

The resolutions that passed on Monday were crafted in a fashion to showcase the wave of support for EPS and to restrict the politics of OPS, who was the second-in-line leader of the party under Jayalalithaa. The party cadres and leaders who attended the meeting had hailed EPS and his leadership. The reports say that there has been an unprecedented change in the bylaws and these changes have been made with the view of annulling OPS and his faction. 

The party has further passed the resolution to conduct the election for the post of General Secretary within four months from now and the party has appointed senior leaders Natham Viswanathan and Pollachi Jayaraman as the election officers. As EPS has been elevated as ADMK's interim General Secretary with more power, his supporters across the state have been celebrating the moment. The developments have drawn huge attention from across and beyond Tamil Nadu as the party has revived the post of General Secretary after five years.

 

Comments