AIADMK Vs AIADMK: Sasikala, her nephews and CM Palaniswami expelled

Just a day after AIAMDK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala loyalist Edappadi Palaniswami took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, he along with Sasikala and her nephews were ‘removed’ from the party by the O. Panneerselvam camp this morning. Sasikala, T.T.V. Dinakaran and S. Venkatesh and CM Palaniswami were expelled from the party by Panneerselvam loyalist E. Madhusudanan, who was himself sacked from the post of AIADMK Presidium Chairman by Sasikala last week. In a press release, Madhusudanan said, “Sasikala had ‘violated’ her promise to the late Jayalalithaa that she will not enter politics and that she had no inclination to be a part of the party or Government.” The statement further said,  “Sasikala was being removed from the party’s primary membership for going against the party principles and ideals besides facing criminal cases. She has brought disrepute to the party.” The swearing-in of Edappadi Palaniswami as the CM has spiked tensions in the State caught between Sasikala, who is serving jail term at the Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru, and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam. The MLAs identified with former CM's camp this morning met Speaker P. Dhanpal and held discussions.