E Palaniswami Is Chief Minister Candidate In Truce, OPS Gets Party Panel

Chennai: E Palaniswami will be the ruling AIADMK’s Chief ministerial candidate for the Tamil Nadu election next year, his deputy and perceived rival for the post, O Panneerselvam, announced today.

The announcement came after weeks of negotiation and speculation over intense rivalry between Chief Minister E Palaniswami or “EPS”, and Mr Panneerselvam.

An 11-member steering committee of the party will look at “collective leadership”, said Mr Panneerselvam, also known as “OPS”, recalling the leadership of J Jayalalithaa, the former AIADMK chief and Chief Minister who died in 2016.

Talks reportedly went on till 3.30 am this morning, in the hours leading up to the announcement that delivers, for now, a delicate balance of power between EPS and OPS.

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