After 20 years as chairman of the ANC in the Free State, Ace Magashule's grip on power is slipping away.
In a sign of his waning support, a provincial party conference set for Friday has been postponed and a "cadres' assembly" will be held instead in his hometown of Parys.
ANC provincial officials have said the indefinite postponement of the conference was due to logistics, but insiders say the convening of the "cadres' assembly" was a last-gasp attempt to solidify support for the Free State premier.
Thabo Meeko, provincial ANC spokesman, said the main reason for the postponement was "logistical challenges" arising from an audit of party membership.
"The audits only began on Monday so branch general meetings to nominate candidates can't happen in time," he said.
However, a senior provincial leader opposed to Magashule said the outcomes of the ANC policy conference at Nasrec were proof that Magashule's hold on power was unravelling.
Magashule is part of a group of pro-Jacob Zuma provincial leaders known as the Premier League who lost major policy debates at the party's policy indaba last month.
"There is paranoia. If there was not, then why would you host conference after conference in your backyard [Parys]?" the source asked.
But Magashule's supporters insist he still enjoys support from three of the five ANC regions in the province.
He is being challenged by his deputy and former ally, Thabo Manyoni.
Former provincial treasurer Mxolisi Dukwana is also said to have entered the leadership race.
Magashule's critics have criticised him for wanting to stay on as provincial leader despite having been nominated as a candidate for secretary-general at the ANC's conference in December.
Magashule is also facing pressure from former allies over his relationship with the Gupta family and the government subsidy they received to procure the Estina dairy farm near Vrede. The Guptas used some of the money to pay for their family wedding at Sun City in 2013.
