(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) An ongoing tussle in Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK over the Chief Minister candidate for the 2021 Assembly election became much sharper at a high-level party meeting yesterday. There was a verbal duel between Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, with the CM and party co-coordinator shooting down his deputy and party coordinator's proposal for a 11-member steering committee. The committee was one of the conditions for the merger of the two factions that emerged after the death of Chief Minister and party leader Jayalalithaa. There was no clear end to the dispute at yesterday's meeting, but the party has said that it will announce its CM candidate on October 7. The tussle over the CM post is a rare occurrence in Tamil Nadu's personality-driven politics — particularly so in the AIADMK, which has been dominated by former Chief Ministers and film stars M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa throughout its history. The latter's death had caused a rift in the party based on loyalty to her aide and confidante Sasikala. Mr. Panneerselvam, who had been elected CM then, resigned after revolting against Sasikala. Sasikala placed her loyalist Mr. Palaniswami in the CM's seat before being jailed in the disproportionate assets case. However, after much political drama, Mr. Palaniswami joined hands with Mr. Panneerselvam to stay in power. Recently, news has emerged that Sasikala may be out of jail next year, adding to the mix in this tussle. The tussle is also a throwback to the months of political drama after Jayalalithaa's death. Also, it muddies the waters in the run-up to an unusual Assembly election in Tamil Nadu where the larger-than-life figures of Jayalalithaa and DMK's Karunanidhi are not facing off, making this story important. |
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