Posters hailing Panneerselvam as "CM 2021" creates flutter

Party deputy coordinator K P Munsamy had said the AIADMK top leadership would take a decision on the Chief Ministerial candidate for assembly elections and announce it at an appropriate time. Later, Panneerselvam had urged party men to be united and act responsibly.

Posters hailing AIADMK top leader O Panneerselvam as the only Chief Ministerial candidate blessed by late party supremo J Jayalalithaa for the 2021 Assembly elections were found stuck on walls at several places in Theni districton Saturday,creating a flutter in the party. Against the backdrop of a recent debate among ministers over the candidate for the polls, the posters that appeared in the native district of Panneerselvam, the Deputy Chief Minister, assumes significance.

A poster said Panneerselvam "is the one and only Chief Minister blessed by Puratchi Thalaivi" (Revolutionary leader, a reference to Jayalalithaa), apparently indicating thathe should be the Chief Ministerial candidate for the election and that he was chosen by the late leader tobe the Chief Minister twice (2001 and 2014) while she was alive. Another said he was the "Chief Minister" for the ordinarypeople and the poor and blessed by Amma.

Another one hailed himas the "permanent Chief Minister." A common tag line found in a variety of posters was #2021 CM for OPS, suggesting that Panneerselvamshould be the CM candidate. The slogans in the posters were attributed to the "Kenjampatti village people" in Bodinayakanur union in Theni district and were found in locations, including Periyakulam, (home town of Panneerselvam) and Theni in the district.

Images of Chief Minister K Palaniswami, party icons, Jayalalithaa and AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran were displayed in the posters. When asked, party office-bearers here said: "This has got nothing to do with Panneerselvam. Some functionaries may have done this at a personal level.

A party functionaryasked: "Why were some ministersnot questioned when they said Palaniswami should be theChief Minister in 2021? When that is the case why should theytake exception to such posters now?" Leading to speculations of a factional feud, a debateon "Chief Ministerial candidate" was triggered after AIADMK's Madurai based leader and Minister Sellur K Raju days agosaid the Chief Minister would be chosen by elected MLAswhile another Minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji favouredprojecting the incumbent as the CM candidate. Party deputy coordinator K P Munsamy had said the AIADMK top leadership would take a decision on the Chief Ministerial candidate for assembly elections and announce it at an appropriate time.

Later, Panneerselvam had urged party men to be united and act responsibly. "The AIADMK's only goal is to emerge victorious for the third time in a row in the Assembly elections to be held in 2021.

Victory is honourable Amma's dream. To realise it, it is my appeal that we should act responsibly with a sense of duty, dignity and discipline," Panneerselvam, who is the party coordinator, the top post, had said on his twitter handle.

Chief Minister K Palaniswamiis the co-coordinator..