AIADMK’s 11-member steering committee skips women, only EPS, OPS loyalists included

The stalemate in Tamil Nadu’s ruling party AIADMK came to an end on Wednesday, with the party coordinator Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami coming to an agreement over major issues. The bone of contention between the party’s dual leadership was the announcement of the chief ministerial candidate for the impending Assembly election and the formation of a 11-member steering committee to guide the party. 

However, it must be noted that the party’s steering committee doesn’t feature even a single woman leader, this, in a party that had swept to power in four Assembly elections under the late J Jayalalithaa’s leadership. Also, what led to a compromise between the party’s leadership is a pertinent question. 

When asked about the exclusion of women leaders in the steering committee, a source in the AIADMK told WION that five-six more committees would be announced in due course to take care of various facets of electioneering such as propaganda, negotiations with allies, promotion of ideology etc. and those committees would have women leaders on-board.

“The representation of women in the overall party structure is more important and the entire strategy must be looked at,” another AIADMK leader said, on the condition of anonymity, partially admitting that having no women in the steering committee appeared stark. 

The issue of appointing of a steering committee for the party isn’t a new one, this sprang up in the 2017 general body meeting of the party. Back then, the appointment of this committee featured as a point in the resolution that they had released. However, there was no announcement of the formation of such a committee since then, neither did the EPS faction show much interest towards it. It is said that, the demands for this committee grew louder from the OPS camp, mainly over the last three months.

“Even when OPS revolted against Sasikala, when she made attempts to take over the party in 2017, only 11 MLAs backed him. But now ahead of an election, he rocked the boat to prove his influence, even if little. If OPS had pushed for this committee about two years back, it would’ve been brushed aside” said senior journalist Kolahala Srenivaas. He added that this latest announcement was a win-win for the AIADMK leadership and that the committee was not featuring women, because the women themselves did not blatantly align with EPS or OPS. 

It is one matter that the 11-member committee doesn’t feature women, but it being viewed as an attempt by OPS and EPS to consolidate their base, as the committee members belong to certain influential communities that are loyal AIADMK vote banks in parts of the state. Another factor that is said to have been evaluated while picking the candidates for the committee was also their loyalty towards Sasikala, the aide of Late Chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who is serving her jail term in the Parappana Agrahara prison in Karnataka. 

“The five leaders who have been picked by OPS are each from a different community and they are anti-Sasikala, and are from Southern Tamil Nadu where OPS hails from. In the case of six candidates picked by EPS, they too are his loyalists and are known to have taken an anti-Sasikala stance,” political analyst Ravindran Duraisamy told WION. He added that the AIADMK is no more the vulnerable party that it was, as it has grown to a level where they want to be in a commanding position and have Sasikala reach out to them. 

The impending release of Sasikala and the also the manner in which the AIADMK would handle its ongoing alliance with the BJP and other parties in the state, is expected to be the next big move. These decisions and their consequences gain significance owing to the fact that the ruling party faces double anti-incumbency, having ruled the state for nearly two terms. While the BJP-led NDA and allies did exceedingly well across large parts of India, they faced a severe setback in Tamil Nadu. The NDA received a severe drubbing with only a lone parliamentary seat out of 39. 

When asked about the way ahead for the ruling party, considering the release of Sasikala and the alliance equations with the BJP, senior journalist and political analyst Dr. Sumanth C foramen said that Sasikala’s release was not likely to have an impact on the AIADMK. “There will be disgruntled elements who might jump ship to Sasikala camp, but AIADMK has clearly identified its leadership. The decision regarding their alliance with the BJP is likely to be finalized by December-January” he told WION.