Amid the speculations and controversies over finding the face for the party in the upcoming legislative assembly elections, the top two ADMK leaders have issued a joint statement on Saturday in a bid to reunite the scattered pieces of the party that broken in the wake of the intra-party furor and the political fight on who will be the next Chief Ministerial candidate of ADMK party in the 2021 assembly polls. 

The joint statement from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ADMK's joint co-ordinator Edappadi Palaniswami and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and ADMK's Chief co-ordinator Panneerselvam has come hours after the multiple rounds of talks held by the senior ministers. Around ten senior ministers had acted as the mediators between the top two leaders and they went busy in driving to and fro of the residences of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in Chennai on Saturday.

In the joint statement, which has come as the sequel of the political heat, Tamil Nadu CM EPS and Deputy CM OPS said that the remarks made by the party members without any background for the past few days had become a major topic for debate among others. The leaders have called the members to observe the military-style control on the remarks like how it was under the leadership of Jayalalithaa to avoid such situations from getting repeated. 

மாண்புமிகு முதல்வர் திரு. எடப்பாடி கே. பழனிசாமி, மாண்புமிகு துணை முதல்வர் திரு. ஓ.பன்னீர்செல்வம் ஆகியோரின் முக்கிய அறிவிப்பு. pic.twitter.com/d3VSrngdet

— AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) August 15, 2020

The leaders had urged the party members to bound for the party's leadership and asserted that the decisions regarding the alliance and policy matters will be taken democratically in the way that was guided by Jayalalithaa and through discussing with the senior leaders to reflect the mindset of the party members. 

The leaders further asked the members not to give space for any rustles and to jointly work for the party. The leaders asked the members to concentrate on the party related works and further issued warnings for the party members on placing the remarks about the party without the party's approval. 

The leaders said that action will be taken against the party members who speak about the AIADMK's affairs in public and in media without the approval of the party leadership. Through the joint statement, the top two leaders have opened up for the first time since the party caught up with the intra-party furor over choosing the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2021 assembly polls. 

The joint statement has come on the same day when Panneerselvam's home district of Theni had shocked Edappadi Palaniswami by pasting the posters across many areas that Panneerselvam will be the Chief Minister in 2021 and he will forever be the people's Chief Minister. The poster put the spotlight on Panneerselvam by using the hashtag of #2021CMforOPS. However, according to the reports, Panneerselvam had directed the party functionaries to remove the posters and in some places, those posters were torn apart.

As the political fight within the party on becoming the party's face had gone to the next level, around ten senior ministers including Jayakumar, Velumani, Shanmugam, Thangamani, Kadambur Raju, and Sengottaiyan had made to and fro travels to the residences of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday. The reports say that these ministers had acted as mediators in a bid to mitigate the furor. The discussions at both the residences have lasted for over three hours following which the joint statement has come from the duo. 

When the state is just months away to host the next assembly polls, some of the senior ADMK Ministers had sparked the furor through their statements. Minister Sellur Raju said that the next Chief Minister will be elected by the party MLAs after the elections, which shown that he was less likely to accept Edappadi Palanswami as the Chief Minister. Following his remark, his colleague Rajenthra Balaji said that Edappadi Palaniswami will always be the Chief Minister and  2021 will also be for the ADMK. Ministers Jayakumar and Udhayakumar had also put forth their statements on the Chief Minister race after which it became debate across the state and the top two leaders had issued the statement with the aim of dotting up such controversies. 

Must-read: '2021 CM for OPS': See how a poster troubled EPS as the CM race in ADMK gets tough!