No poll for gen sec till apex court has heard AIADMK leadership row: EPS to SC

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday assured the Supreme Court there will not be an election to the coveted post of general secretary until the court has heard the leadership row in the party.

Palaniswami currently helms the party founded by the charismatic M G Ramachandran and nurtured by the redoubtable J Jayalalithaa.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and Krishna Murari has agreed to hear a plea against the September 2 verdict of the Madras high court which allowed Palaniswami's appeal, setting aside an order in favour of O Panneerselvam, a former chief minister and his friend-turned-foe.

“C S Sundaram, senior advocate appearing on behalf of the respondent number one (Palaniswami), has stated at the bar that till the present matters are heard, there shall not be any election of the general secretary,” the bench noted in its order.

The apex court has posted the matter for resumed hearing on November 21.

On September 2, a division bench of the Madras High Court had allowed Palaniswami's appeal, setting aside an order of the single judge who had nullified the July 11 General Council (GC) meeting of the AIADMK where the leader of opposition Palaniswami was elected the interim general secretary of the party.

Panneerselvam (OPS), a Jayalalithaa loyalist who filled in for her as the chief minister when she was in jail over corruption charges, was expelled from the party.

The division bench had quashed the August 17 order of the single judge who had directed maintenance of status quo ante as on June 23.

After Jayalalithaa's demise, EPS became the Chief Minister and OPS his deputy. Under a reciprocatory arrangement, Panneerselvam was appointed the party Coordinator and Palaniswami the Joint Coordinator, till they eventually had a falling out.

The HC's directive was for maintenance of the then existing dual power structure in the party.