AIADMK rebels express reluctance to accept new positions in the party

The AIADMK rebels, including former ministers SP Velumani, P Thangamani and KP Anbalagan, conveyed to party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami their reluctance to accept the new posts allotted to them.

After dissidents opposed the party’s stand and opposed the trust vote moved by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay in the assembly on May 13, Mr. Palaniswami removed 26 district secretaries.

A few days later, he dismissed other district secretaries. On June 25, the General Secretary did not restore the post of District Secretary to any of the dismissed officials, but offered them other posts. Mr. Velumani and another senior rebel, Natham R. Viswanathan, were appointed deputy general secretaries.

At the same time, former Minister of Law C.Ve. Shanmugam, a bitter critic of Mr. Palaniswami, was not given any post. Speaking at a meeting in Coimbatore last Sunday, Mr. Velumani wondered how he would accept the position when many of his colleagues were not “properly accommodated” in the organization.

In a jointly signed letter, the nine rebels accused Mr. Palaniswami of “disregarding” what was agreed between them at the time of the ceasefire in May when the two camps of MLAs withdrew their disqualification complaints against each other. Their June 30 communiqué said the current state of affairs arose as a result of Mr. Palaniswami’s efforts to form the government with the help of the DMK. This would not have happened if he had decided to remain an opposition party, the paper added. Mr. Viswanathan; former ministers KC Veeramani and P. Balakrishna Reddy; and former Tenkasi (North), Ranipet (West) and Cuddalore (West) Unit Secretaries C. Krishnamurali, SM Sukumar and A. Arunmozhithevan were the other signatories. Mr. Shanmugam was not part of this group of rebels.

Mr Thangamani and Mr Anbalagan, who were district secretaries of Namakkal and Dharmapuri units until the uprising and held the portfolios of electricity and higher education under the previous AIADMK regime (2016-21), were appointed organizing secretaries in the latest action by the party general secretary.

They told The Hindu on Wednesday that they would prefer to remain “ordinary volunteers” of the party. When asked whether they would switch to TVK or DMK, they emphatically said that they would not leave the organization and clarified that they were not against the party leadership.

The former electricity minister recalled that when factions led by Janaki Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa merged in February 1989 and groups led by O. Panneerselvam (now in the DMK) and Mr. Palaniswami merged in August-September 2017, those holding positions in the party were given their seats back. “Let me make one point clear: We are not against the party leadership. EPS (Mr. Palaniswami) is our general secretary,” he noted.

Was the decision not to accept Mr. Palaniswami’s new position not to return the post of District Secretary? “No,” was Mr. Anbalagan’s reply. “The position I have been given is not a recognition of my work for the party,” he added.

Several supporters of Mr. Palaniswami wondered how the general secretary could turn rebels into district secretaries again. They argued that if their leader acceded to the dissidents’ demand, his future disciplinary measures would carry no weight. One of them pointed out that the insurgents not only wanted the convening of the general council, but also raided to collect the signatures of sections of the council members.

Women’s wing meeting

Meanwhile, the AIADMK women’s wing has decided to work hard for the party’s success in the upcoming by-elections to several assembly constituencies and local body polls. This followed Mr. Palaniswami, who chaired a meeting at the headquarters in Chennai, advising wing members to strengthen the organization and bring in more women.

B. Valarmati, secretary of the women’s wing and former minister, who briefed journalists on the meeting, claimed that the participation of “a large number of women” in the meeting was a demonstration of the party’s strength among women.

When asked how she viewed the act of many leaders leaving the organisation, Ms Valarmati said similar events happened when the party suffered electoral setbacks under the leadership of MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa. Kaliammal, who joined the party in March after being in the Naam Tamilar Katchi, said there have been instances where many parties have gone through churning, fragmentation and mergers. “But the reason we have come together today is to discuss how to continue the party. We like to send positive vibes,” she noted, adding that Mr. Palaniswami would soon unveil a plan to strengthen the party in each district.

However, the general secretary left the party office without answering reporters’ questions on the latest developments regarding the AIADMK.

As the youth rallied behind the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Ms. Kaliammal argued that if that was the case, the ruling party should get more than 50% of the votes with an absolute majority. “Compared to TVK’s vote share of 35%, the collective vote share of DMK and AIADMK was about 45%, excluding the numbers of their allies. Besides, TVK did not win any seats in many districts. Take the case of Cauvery Delta – Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Mayiladuthurai, where you thought you won’t win in any of these constitutions. no youth?” she asked.

In a statement, Mr. Palaniswami announced that former minister S. Valarmati has been relieved as secretary of the organization.

Published – 02 Jul 2026 0:40 IST