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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  AIADMK merger likely to be announced today
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AIADMK merger likely to be announced today

O. Panneerselvam could settle for the post of deputy chief minister in the Edappadi K. Palaniswami govt in Tamil Nadu, following the AIADMK merger

File photo. O. Panneerselvam confirmed on Saturday that talks on AIADMK merger were on the ‘right path and good news could be expected in two days’. Photo: PTIPremium
File photo. O. Panneerselvam confirmed on Saturday that talks on AIADMK merger were on the ‘right path and good news could be expected in two days’. Photo: PTI

Chennai: The two rival factions of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) are expected to announce their merger on Monday, according to leaders from both the camps.

While former chief minister O. Panneerselvam had confirmed on Saturday that merger talks were on the “right path and good news could be expected in two days", a senior leader from his faction, who asked for anonymity, confirmed on Sunday that Panneerselvam could settle for the post of deputy chief minister.

The AIADMK merger was set to be sealed on Friday night, but internal disagreements within the Panneerselvam camp on power-sharing turned out to be a roadblock. On Friday, both the factions had confirmed that chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Panneerselvam would come together to announce the merger in front of late CM J. Jayalalithaa’s memorial.

A series of steps by the Tamil Nadu government has brought the two sides closer to a merger. Most recently, Palaniswami announced on Thursday that an enquiry commission will be constituted under a retired judge to probe into the December 2016 death of Jayalalithaa.

Panneerselvam, who opposed party general secretary V.K. Sasikala’s move to become chief minister in February, has been making two primary demands for merger —ouster of Sasikala and her family from party affairs and a probe into Jayalalithaa’s death.

Sasikala’s nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who was made the deputy general secretary of the AIADMK when Sasikala was put in Bengaluru jail in February after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case, was sidelined by the AIADMK in April.

For the Palaniswami government, which survives on a wafer-thin majority of six MLAs, Dhinakaran sharing the dias with 20 Tamil Nadu MLAs last week during a public meeting near Madurai, sent out a strong signal.

With all the chaos around him, Dhinakaran has in fact emerged in a slightly better position, with little to lose. If he is able to retain the MLAs who have been supporting him and even gain a few disgruntled legislators, Dhinakaran can make it difficult for the government, said N. Sathiya Moorthy, director of the Chennai chapter of the think tank Observer Research Foundation.

According to two senior leaders in the Panneerselvam camp, apart from the deputy chief minister’s post, two ministries could be given out to the former chief minister’s camp.

But, Sathiya Moorthy added, the “possibility of the government falling cannot be ruled out."

While it has been said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the centre is eyeing a united AIADMK before the party national president Amit Shah’s three-day visit to Tamil Nadu starting 22 August, a senior leader from the Palaniswami camp said: “They (BJP) have been giving us all the pressure from the centre. They have created all the possible trouble in the last few months and have made attempts to weaken us."

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Published: 20 Aug 2017, 08:12 PM IST
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