The focus shifts to the tussle within the AIADMK ahead of the district secretaries’ meeting with the EPS

Even as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami is scheduled to hold discussions with the party’s district secretaries in Chennai on Tuesday, the focus is on the final outcome of the intra-party tussle between his camp and rebels led by former ministers SP Velumani and C.Ve. Shanmugam.

A cross-section of party functionaries believes Mr Palaniswami should follow up his earlier statement (calling on the dissidents to agree to talks) with a strong call for reunification at the meeting. Otherwise, his call will be labeled a hollow appeal, officials say, adding that both groups should make serious efforts to end the dispute.

Duel for 10 years

“For almost 10 years, we have been indulging in infighting instead of fighting our traditional adversary, the DMK. Perhaps because of the differences between our leaders, people have decided that the AIADMK is not the right party to take on the DMK,” says a long-time official who is a district secretary in northern Tamil Nadu. He attributes the rise of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to the “vacuum” his party created due to the wars.

Another official says that “against all odds” the party has done relatively well in the House elections, although some polls and opinion polls had predicted it would do poorly. Referring to AIADMK’s performance against DMK and TVK, this district secretary points out that wherever the party finished third, its performance was better in areas where DMK was taking seats. For example, in more than 70% of the constituencies (13 out of 18 constituencies) where the party came in second and the DMK was the winner, the AIADMK won at least 30% of the votes polled. But wherever TVK won, the party could cross the 30% mark in only 60% of the seats (15 out of 25). A similar trend can be observed where AIADMK finished third, behind TVK and DMK. “From these findings, it can be concluded that the party’s voter base has been eroded more by TVK than DMK,” says the district secretary.

Petition with spokesperson

Tuesday’s meeting comes after Mr. Palaniswami removed 28 district secretaries and filled vacancies caused by layoffs. While the two camps are discussing the next course of action, Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar is yet to take any action on the petitions for disqualification of legislators from the other camp. A spokesperson told The Hindu on Monday, “They are under consideration and a decision will be taken at the appropriate time.”

Published – 18 May 2026 22:49 IST