AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) held a meeting with the party’s district secretaries at his residence on Saturday to discuss the next course of action and the question of leadership change.
The discussions come amid a widening rift within the party following its defeat in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, where AIADMK finished third. A large section of the 47 MLAs elected on the party ticket attended a meeting of dissenting leaders convened by C V Shanmugam a day earlier.
The dissenting camp has argued that the party suffered defeats in two Assembly elections under EPS and has demanded that he step aside, insisting they should lead the party going forward. The internal differences have also delayed the selection of the AIADMK Legislature Party leader.
According to party sources, some leaders, including C V Shanmugam, are strongly opposing EPS returning as the Legislature Party leader. After the meeting with EPS, district secretaries met with K P Munusamy (Velumani) and Shanmugam at MRC Nagar on Saturday afternoon for further talks.
Party members fear that if no settlement is reached, the split could become visible during the MLA oath-taking event scheduled for Sunday.
