TN CM forms 10-member committee to discuss merger with OPS

Rebel All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader O Panneerselvam on Tuesday said the Sasikala faction of the party has formed a committee to conduct talks on merger.


Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK Amma (the Sasikala faction), in an initiative led by Chief Minister E Palaniswami, has set up a 10-member committee to hold re-merger talks with the party's rival faction led by former chief minister O Panneerselvam.


Most ministers and lawmakers are clear that party chief VK Sasikala and her deputy and nephew TTV Dinakaran must resign. Faced with the rebellion, Dinakaran is returning to Chennai from Bengaluru without meeting his aunt Sasikala in the jail where she is serving time for corruption.


This comes after state Finance Minister D Jayakumar yesterday hinted at the possibility of a merger between the two groups.


Jayakumar said all 123 AIADMK lawmakers and party cadres were on the same page and discussed about the possibilities of retaining the 'Two Leaves' symbol, which had been frozen by the Election Commission.


This development came after the Delhi Police booked AIADMK general secretary TTV Dinakaran on charges of bribing the Election Commission officials to claim the 'Two Leaves' symbol.


The Crime Branch recovered approximately Rs. 1.3 crore from alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Dinakaran, who is considered to be a close Sasikala aide, later said that he was ready to legally face any summons from the Delhi Police. When asked if Sasikala would quit from the party in case the merger took place, Jayakumar said, "We have no information regarding this."


File pic: Former TN CM O Panneerselvam.