From Deputy CM To Political Isolation: O Panneerselvam Sidelined By BJP & AIADMK

Chennai: In February 2017, O Panneerselvam, then into his third term as Chief Minister, had listened to Swadeshi Jagran Manch leader S Gurumurthy and rebelled against V K Sasikala, a former close aide of the late Jayalalithaa. In August that year, acting on the counsel of Prime Minister Modi (as recalled by him), he joined forces with then Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and became his deputy in the Tamil Nadu Government – a climbdown for the man, who was twice hand-picked by Jayalalithaa to keep be her stand-in while she battled corruption cases. Thereafter, he made no secret of his admiration and loyalty to Modi. In the last parliamentary elections, he did the BJP’s bidding by contesting from as an Independent from the Ramanathapuram constituency, and came a cropper.

On Thursday, Panneerselvam, who has since been expelled from the AIADMK, was a politically lost man. The BJP, which has now enlisted Palaniswami’s AIADMK, no longer needed him. Just last week, Modi did not entertain his request for an audience.

Feeling let down by the BJP, Panneerselvam watched veteran politician Panruti S Ramachandran, announce to journalists the exit of the AIADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee, which the former heads, from the BJP-led NDA. Panneerselvam endorsed Ramachandran and told journalists, “listen to him.”

Strangely, in the morning, Panneerselvam, ‘bumped into’ Chief Minister M K Stalin during the latter’s routine walk at the scenic Theosophical Society. The meeting was anything but accidental – notwithstanding Panneerselvam’s claim that whenever he was in Chennai he would walk at the Theosophical Society, which has remained Stalin’s favourite place for some years now.

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It is however not clear which direction Panneerselvam would take. “This needs to be watched. If he takes right turn from Theosophical Society’s exit gate in Adyar and moves towards Cenotaph Road where Stalin lives, he should be joining forces with the DMK. If he instead takes a left turn and heads to Pannaiyur, he should be embracing the political newbie and actor Vijay,” quipped a commentator.

If he joins the DMK camp, he may find it hard to convince his supporters as they were fed on an anti-Karunanidhi, anti-DMK grass since the days of the M G Ramachandran. But with his Maravar community support, he would be bringing in value to the DMK front. But if he accepts Vijay’s leadership, then he would be strengthening the former with no guarantee of a victory. Either way, he is no commanding position.