#Politicats eps driver
#Politicats eps free

The EPS camp, on its part, has come out with its own justification on why he should be projected as the chief ministerial candidate. Two years ago, Dinakaran alleged that OPS had reached out to him to oust EPS and make him the chief minister. Media reports said that OPS has reached out to T T V Dinakaran, nephew of Sasikala Natarajan, looking for a political direction.ĭinakaran, who tried to force EPS to make way for him in 2017, was expelled from the AIADMK and he has floated his own Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) party. This has even led to fears of the AIADMK being reduced to a 'Gounder community party' if OPS were to leave the party again. In fact, the EPS-OPS tussle is seen as one between these two dominant groups. The Gounder community has gained an upper hand during the current regime of EPS, having returned nearly three dozen AIADMK legislators to the assembly, and with EPS himself being a Gounder. Until J Jayalalithaa was alive, the Thevar community called the shots in the state’s politics and governance, thanks to her aide Sasikala Natarajan who is a Thevar herself. The Vanniyar community is believed to lack the unity that Thevar and Gounder communities have shown in rising to prominence in the state.Īll the three communities are listed under Other Backward Classes (OBC). The Pattali Makkal Katchi was launched to take care of the community’s interests but it has made little headway in earning the whole community’s trust. The Vanniyar community, which has a strong presence in northern and western Tamil Nadu, claims that it makes up nearly 25 per cent of the state population. OPS' argument is that this will help the party reap a significant chunk of the Vanniyar community votes and also sway the minorities towards the AIADMK. The Deputy Chief Minister says the party should nominate a Vanniyar community leader as the chief ministerial candidate and a minority community leader as the deputy chief minister-designate. OPS, on the other hand, is trying to come up with an alternative solution. This is being stiffly opposed by the EPS camp.

#Politicats eps free

The OPS camp also says that the panel would be free to nominate a party chief ministerial candidate. It now wants the guidance panel to be set up and take care of the party affairs until the elections are over. The OPS camp says that EPS had assured to set up an 11-member guidance committee comprising senior leaders (five from OPS group and the rest from EPS team) in the party to tend to its affairs. Despite OPS group voting against him, he managed to win the trust vote.

The OPS camp is pointing out to certain undertakings given by EPS and his followers when they agreed to return to the AIADMK after a rift in early 2017.Īt that time, OPS, and 17 other legislators owing allegiance to him even voted against the trust motion moved by EPS in the assembly after he was sworn in as the chief minister. OPS and his followers are opposing any such move. AIADMK feels it is necessary to project a face as the CM candidate since the principal opposition party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has projected its president M K Stalin as its candidate for the coveted post. It was also reported that two ministers had a tough time convincing him to change his decision.Īt the centre of the tussle is the issue of the party's chief ministerial candidate for the elections. But media ran reports of OPS wanting to fly the party flag on his vehicle instead.

#Politicats eps driver

With the mainstream media speculating widely, the development has caused confusion among AIADMK party workers as well as the people and even small issues are being blown out of proportion.įor example, a couple of days ago OPS' driver wanted to change the national flag on his vehicle. With elections to Tamil Nadu Assembly about six months away, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is caught in an internal wrangle between two factions - one headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and the other by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS).