The AIADMK remains a divided house despite the faction led by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam coming back to the fold.

The two major groups within the ruling party merged today with the OPS faction formally meeting with the group led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the party headquarters and announcing their rapprochement.

Both then paid their respects at the memorial of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa whose death on December 5, 2016, led to a battle for power within the party.

OPS took over as the Deputy Chief Minister handling the finance portfolio at the swearing in ceremony in Raj Bhavan while his supporter K Pandiarajan took over as the Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture adding two more ministers to the 31-member Cabinet.

This brings to closure the protracted battle by OPS which came out in the open late on February 7 night, when he dramatically sat in meditation at Jayalalithaa’s memorial before informing media persons that he had been forced to resign two days earlier as Chief Minister by VK Sasikala, a close confidante of Jayalalithaa, who had taken over as general secretary.

Expelling Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who she inducted into the party and made deputy general secretary, was a precondition laid down by OPS for the merger.

However, the rift in the ruling party is far from healed as Dhinakaran claims the support of 16-20 MLAs, and is unlikely to remain a passive spectator. Dhinakaran was in consultation with his supporters through the day. His next move will be closely watched as it may be crucial to the stability of the government.

Palaniswami, proved his strength in the Assembly on February 18 with the support of 122 members, including Dhinakaran’s supporters, in the 234-member Assembly. Though OPS’s 11-member faction has merged with EPS, Dhinakaran may still hold the key.

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