The ruling AIADMK’s governing council was restructured yesterday for the first time since last December’s demise of the party’s ‘permanent general secretary’ and former chief-minister J. Jayalalithaa. Chief-minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami and veteran party leader and former Minister K.P. Munuswamy have been included in the council.

Till her demise, Jayalalithaa was the unassailable leader of the council which has nine members. Presidium secretary Madhusudanan, O. Panneerselvam, Venugopal, Jastinraj and Tamilmagan Usen were also the members of the governing council. After the AIADMK split into two in February, Sasikala restructured the council claiming that her faction was the ‘original’ AIADMK.

In the meantime, the Election Commission passed its verdict last week stating that the AIADMK headed by OPS-EPS was the original AIADMK and allotted to it the frozen ‘Two-Leaves’ symbol, name and flage of the erstwhile AIADMK.  Buoyed with the verdict, the governing council of the party met at the party’s Royapettah headquarters in Chennai and discussed about the modes of admitting new members in the council.

A heated debated ensued after which things settled down and finally, a 9-member Council comprising the below-mentioned leaders was formed:

1.    O. Panneerselvam – Convener;
2.    Edapadi K. Palaniswami – Deputy Convener;
3.    Presidium Secretary Madhusudanan;
4.    K.P. Munuswami – Joint Convener;
5.    Vaithilingam – Joint Convener;
6.    Tamilmagan Usen;
7.    Pa. Valarmathi (Literary Wing of AIADMK);
8.    Jastinraj (Minority Wing of AIADMK); and
9.    Venugopal (Medial Wing of AIADMK)

Edapadi K. Palaniswami, K.P. Munuswamy, Vaithilingam and Pa. Valarmathi thus become the newly-inducted members of the AIADMK’s governing council.