EPS
In the Madurantakam constituency, AIADMK’s vote share fell by nine percentage points, from 35% it got in the April election. In Dharapuram, its vote share dropped by 15 percentage points, from 41%. The party’s vote tally fell by 35,820, from 81,110 in the April election. Palaniswami withdrew disqualification proceedings against 21 of the 25 MLAs after condoning their decision to defy the party whip and vote in favour of TVK govt in May. The rebels are believed to have collected more than 1,400 signatures from general council members across the state in May, well above the number required under the party constitution, for submission to the commission. It is estimated that EPS would have appointed more than 1,000 new general council members after the rebellion. AIADMK has announced public rallies to mark the party’s 55th foundation day on Oct 17.
Because of EPS’s autocratic style of functioning, “We lost the election. EPS detractors now have a sharper argument: Under his leadership, AIADMK lost not just elections, but MLAs who won polls.
Much of the damage could have been prevented had he adopted an inclusive approach,” said a former minister from the northern belt. The ultimate objective is a change of leadership,” said a former minister. What should be the punishment for EPS for taking a stand to form a govt with the support of DMK?” a rebel leader said.
The party, which stood head and shoulders above DMK under MGR and J Jayalalithaa, has now been relegated to the third place. Madurantakam is a reserved constituency with a sizable vanniyar population. Yet Palaniswami appointed Munusamy, a Vanniyar from far-off Krishnagiri, as the constituency in-charge. This was despite the presence of influential functionaries in the region, including Shanmugam, A Arunmozhithevan (Bhuvanagiri), G Hari (Tiruttani) and Veeramani (Jolarpet). Rebels point out how the AIADMK leadership failed to take its ally PMK into confidence. The Vanniyar-based party stayed away from the bypoll, and TVK increased its vote share by nine percentage points and wrested the seat from AIADMK. A similar miscalculation was evident in Dharapuram, a reserved constituency in Erode, which has a substantial gounder population. Palaniswami, who hails from the community, appointed Sreenivasan, a thevar from southern Tamil Nadu, as the constituency in-charge. Neither Velumani nor Thangamani, well-known gounders, was given responsibilities. The four MLAs had resigned by then and defected to TVK. However, EPS’s handling of the rebels further aggravated tensions during the bypolls. None of the legislators who supported TVK during the trust vote figured in the list of star campaigners for the bypolls, except former minister R Kamaraj, G Hari of Tiruttani and N S N Nataraj of Kangayam. Insiders say Shanmugam, a former law minister, had been instrumental in approaching Election Commission. “That representation before Election Commission remains alive, keeping open the possibility of another confrontation. The bypoll debacle has prompted EPS to rethink his strategy. But the rebels are planning to stay away from the celebrations and hold separate events. “Is this punishment for supporting TVK?
Most of the rebel leaders, who were earlier given new positions by EPS, have been asked to participate in the rallies outside their districts.