Chennai: The AIADMK has announced Edappadi K.Palaniswami (EPS) as the general secretary of the party after the Madras High court refused to stay the injunction filed by deposed leader O.Panneerselvam (OPS) and his associates.
The decision to elevate the 68-year -old interim general secretary election of EPS was announced by party election authorities Pollachi V. Jayaraman and Natham R Viswanathan. They also handed over the certificate of election to Palaniswami.
Edappadi K.Palaniswami while speaking to reporters after the Madras High Court verdict said, "The Election officials have announced the results. I have been elected unanimously as the general secretary of the party by the cadre."
The former chief minister thanked his supporters for his elevation with party cadres bursting crackers and distributing sweets in front of the AIADMK headquarters after the election. Many jubilant leaders of the main opposition party said his elevation would enable him to steer the AIADMK towards better days.
In his first announcement as the top leader of the party, EPS said forms for new party membership and renewal of existing ones will be distributed at the AIADMK headquarters here from April 4 onwards for a fee of Rs 10.
The July 11, 2022 meet of the AIADMK general council, the party's highest decision-making body had expelled Panneerselvam and his aides for alleged anti-party activities in the wake of the leadership battle involving the two leaders.
AIADMK leader and former minister K.P. Muniswamy while speaking to reporters said, "Dharma triumphs. It is the hard work of Palaniswami."
The AIADMK legislators who were in the Assembly reached the party headquarters when EPS took charge as general secretary.
AIADMK was founded in 1972 by the actor-politician, the late chief minister M G Ramachandran (MGR), also the first general secretary of the party. The late CM J Jayalalithaa helmed the party from its top post from 1989 to 2016 till her death.
Jayalalithaa's close aide V K Sasikala was elected as the party's interim general secretary after the former's death but she was later convicted and sentenced to four years in jail in a graft case.
Since its inception, the party has had MGR, VR Nedunchizhian, P U Shanmugam, S Ragavanandam and Jayalalithaa as general secretaries at different points of time.
Later in the day, EPS paid floral tributes at the memorials of MGR and Jayalalithaa at the Marina beachfront here.