The much-anticipated talks between the two factions of the ruling AIADMK party failed to happen with the group allied with the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami declining to kowtow to the pre-conditions of the breakaway faction.

The group led by the former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has stuck to its stand demanding that the jailed AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala and all her family members, including the deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran, be formally expelled from the party and both submit their resignations.

The OPS faction is also demanding the government seek a CBI probe into the circumstances leading to the death of the former Chief Minister and party general secretary Jayalalithaa’s in hospital in December 2016.

The OPS faction reiterated these demands today after several hours of deliberations. They declined to take Dinakaran’s statement yesterday that he is willing to ‘step aside’ for the sake of party unity.

However, the Palaniswami faction maintained that there cannot be any pre-conditions for talks. With the support of over 122 MLAs, which Palaniswami demonstrated on the floor of the House in February, the group is speaking from a position of power.

But the hold is tenuous in the 234-member House with OPS having the support of 11 members. Considering the influence Sasikala and Dinakaran have over the party, earning their displeasure could mean the slender margin they enjoy could evaporate.

Two days ago, over 20 Cabinet members out of 31 met and agreed to sideline Sasikala and Dinakaran within the party. But half a dozen MLAs came out openly in support of Dinakaran and there could be more waiting the wings and this could spell trouble for the government.

Possibly this explains the reason that those in power are willing to bear the embarrassment of both its top leaders being under a cloud legally — Sasikala, who was made the general secretary on the strength of her personal association with Jayalalithaa, is in prison for amassing wealth and Dinakaran is accused of foreign exchange violation and is trudging up and down the Court steps.

The by-poll to the RK Nagar Constituency earlier this month, in which he was a contestant, was called off by the Election Commission of India after Income Tax Authorities found documents indicating rampant bribing of voters. The evidence found during the course of IT searches conducted in places associated with Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar and his close associates also pointed to half a dozen other members of the Cabinet linked to disbursing cash for votes. Dinakaran also finds himself on the wrong side of the Delhi Police which has summoned him in connection with a case relating to attempts to bribe the ECI to rule in his favour to claim the AIADMK party symbol.

It was ahead of the RK Nagar by polls that the ECI froze the party name and the Two-Leaves symbol as OPS’ team fielded its own candidate, E Madhusudhanan, formerly the Party Presidium Chairman. OPS’ faction too claimed rights to use the AIADMK name and symbol.

For the Palaniswami faction, freeing the Two-Leaves symbol is crucial. Senior members of the opposing faction see the move to sideline Dinakaran as a ploy to heal the rift and free the party symbol. For Palaniswami, it is important that he gains credibility among party cadres as he is seen as a Sasikala-man.

With four more years to go in power, the AIADMK which retained power in the 2016 elections needs to find a way around this mess. Politics in Tamil Nadu appears to be set for a period of protracted bickering.

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