The AIADMK’s current leadership impasse has dented the aspirations of grassroots workers to win local body seats in the upcoming bypolls as both the leaders – O Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami – will have to sign formal nomination papers for the elections.
The inclusion of Panneerselvam’s signature on nomination papers would mean approval of the leadership-sharing structure, which Palaniswami has worked hard to dismantle. In a crucial meeting on July 11, Panneerselvam is expected to further distance himself from the AIADMK’s power centre. In such a situation, Panneerselvam wrote a letter to the joint coordinator of the party, demanding to send the cadre papers to him to contest the by-elections.
“Due to their current standoff, there is a delay in signing the papers. A senior AIADMK leader said, I am not sure whether we can get a solution within time.
Till Thursday morning, there was no response from Palaniswami.
The local body has a total of 510 seats for the by-elections. “The Election Commission has said that the forms can be given till Thursday, 3 pm. We have written to the party about this,” OPS loyalist MLA Manoj Pandian told reporters on Wednesday evening.
With a severe leadership crisis in the party, grassroots workers away from fierce battles for the top posts are now forced to measure their footing, even as the by-elections near. State Election The commission has said that the voting will be held on July 9. A certain share of seats are to be contested party-wise, for which the signatures of the leaders are required for the election regulator to accept nominations. If the AIADMK cadre does not get the required signatures, they may have to contest as independent candidates.
The AIADMK had already suffered a setback in the urban local body elections in February, with arch rival DMK registering a resounding victory. For a grassroots party like AIADMK, not getting a chance to win local elections is considered a serious setback.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news watch top videos And live TV Here.