EPS will remain AIADMK interim general secretary, the Supreme Court said. (File)
New Delhi/Chennai:
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami or EPS will remain interim general secretary of the state’s opposition AIADMK party, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, in a major blow for his rival O Panneerselvam or OPS.
The top court upheld an order of the Madras High Court after considering a batch of cases concerning changes to the party bylaws during a controversial general council meeting in July. The top court dismissed the petitions filed by Mr Panneerselvam.
The decision is the latest turn in the upheaval triggered by the death of AIADMK’s matriarch J Jayalalithaa in December 2016 which first catapulted OPS as her successor and then EPS later. The AIADMK has since been locked in a power struggle that has surfaced every few months.
The last twist was in September when the Madras High Court allowed EPS’s appeal, setting aside an order in favour of OPS, who had been removed from the party at the July meeting, making way for his rival to head the tottering opposition party in the country’s second-richest state.