After stormy EC meet, AIADMK says CM pick to be out on Oct 7

After a five-hour long meeting, the party announced that the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2021 elections would be announced on October 7.

The Chief Ministerial candidate would be made known by top AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami, party deputy coordinator K P Munusamy told reporters here after the executive committee meeting.

The meeting discussed at length the question of whether Palaniswami or Panneerselvam should be the Chief Ministerial candidate, party sources said, adding it was finally decided that a formal announcement shall be made next month. In the meeting, competing claims -backed by past events in the party- were reportedly made by both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam to stake claim for being the AIADMK’s nominee for polls next year, sources said. Palaniswami reportedly said that he has been providing good governance in Tamil Nadu which has won appreciation from even Prime Minister Narendra Modi to buttress his claim for the post.

Significantly, the party adopted a resolution to work hard unitedly “like brothers” to recapture power for a record third time. As the party office-bearers arrived for the meet, a section of cadres at the entrance of party headquarters waved pictures of Palaniswami and others wore “Panneerselvam mask.” The meet, chaired by Presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan, is the first such high level gathering after a recent “poster row” in which supporters of both Panneerselvam and Palaniswami wanted their respective leaders to be the chief candidate for.