Summary:
All the eight sitting MLAs who supported Mr.
Palaniswami were new comers handpicked by Mr.
Palaniswami himself in the May 2016 Assembly elections. Veteran leader and former Minister S.
Semmalai was the only ruling party MLA who supported OPS in the district. The stiff opposition in his home district was proving a major headache to Mr.
Palaniswami ever since he assumed office. This was despite the fact that all but one of the nine ruling party MLAs elected from the district, apart from Mr.
Palaniswami, remaining in the AIADMK (Amma) faction. Even though the merger of both the factions has brought much cheer to the grass root level workers of the party it has disappointed the local leaders of OPS camp, with Mr.