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Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has ruled out a merger of the three factions of the State’s ruling AIADMK.
He said common support for NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind did not imply that the camps, including the one he heads, intended to unite. In fact, the seven-member panel constituted by his faction to hold merger talks had been dissolved, Panneerselvam said.
“Just because all factions of the AIADMK are supporting the NDA candidate, we cannot say we will merge,” he said.
The decision to support Kovind, he said, was in line with what late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa would have wanted if she were alive.
“If Amma (Jayalalithaa) would have been alive she would have supported the NDA candidate and that is what we have done (to support the NDA candidate)”, he told reporters on Monday at Usilampatti, about 50 km from here.
Panneerselvam said his faction had asked the Election Commission to hold elections for the post of AIADMK General Secretary. “We will take the next step after the EC decides on our request,” he said.
Referring to DMK working President MK Stalin’s statement that elections would soon be held in Tamil Nadu, he said, “That is his view”.
All three AIADMK factions, led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran respectively, had announced their support to the NDA presidential nominee last week.
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