The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is holding its first state conference on Sunday, August 20 after the appointment of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) as the party general secretary. The conference was flagged off by EPS by hoisting the party’s flag in Madurai. This is the first conference after the rival faction led by O Panneerselvam (OPS) was expelled from the party. The mega conference titled ‘Ezhuchi Mannadu’ was announced in April.
According to reports, Madurai was chosen as the venue for this meeting to disprove the claims that the AIADMK had weakened in southern Tamil Nadu. It is to be noted that the expelled senior party leader, OPS, is from the southern district of Theni.
Meanwhile, the Thevar Federation announced a protest against the conference. The Thevars are a dominant caste who have a significant population in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. According to Mint, the Federation is of the opinion that EPS has not given due respect to the Thevar community and so must not be allowed to hold the conference in Madurai.
According to AIADMK party leader R Kamaraj, at least 20 lakh people are expected to attend the public programme which is to be held at the 65-acre conference ground in Mandela Nagar. Twelve parking lots have been arranged for vehicles that will transport the cadres while food counters have also been put up at the ground.
It may be noted that EPS is on a backfoot given the fact that the party faced crushing defeats in both the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. In the panchayat and urban local body elections too, the party faced huge defeats.
(With IANS inputs)