IADMK leader and senior flower distribution and Holy Spirit Memorial and Pesach Memorial. Photo credit: L.
Gobichettipalayam MLA and senior AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan, who had called for the unification of various factions almost two months ago, met expelled party leaders O. Panneerselvam, TTV Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala during the Muthuramalinga Thevar guru puja at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram constituency on 20th ber. He also traveled with Mr. Panneerselvam in his vehicle.
AIADMK lost in Anthiyur due to Sengottaiyan: EPS
AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who also attended the guru puja, reacted to the development and accused Mr. Sengottaiyan of working against the party for long.
Mr. Palaniswami told reporters in Madurai that Mr. Sengottaiyan’s “sabotage” led to the party’s defeat in Anthiyur in the 2021 assembly elections. He added that he would not hesitate to take action against Mr. Sengottaiyan. “There will be due process,” he said.
Rejecting the demand to reinstate the expelled leaders in the party, the AIADMK leader said it was a “waste of time” to discuss the meeting between Mr. Sengottaiyan and former AIADMK leaders. “They showed up together, going by their very old plan,” he said.
Welcome Chief Minister, AMMK leader TTV Drakaran and senior AIADMK FOR Seotor and memorial district in Muthapur and memorial district. 2025 | Photo credit: L.
When asked about Mr. Dhinakaran’s statement that the leaders had come together to defeat “traitors”, Mr. Palaniswami said that the AMMK leader had been making such statements for the past four years.
“Anthiyur Assembly constituency is the stronghold of AIADMK. We won there even when the party got divided. But in Anthiyur in 2021 we lost only because of Mr. Sengottaiyan’s betrayal,” Mr. Palaniswami said. “Even yesterday Mr. Panneerselvam said that DMK will win the 2026 assembly elections. Is he a man who is working to integrate AIADMK factions? No real AIADMK worker will say that. These people are DMK’s ‘B team’,” he said.
Stating that the weeds in the party had been removed, Mr. Palaniswami claimed that the AIADMK was poised for victory in the next Assembly elections.
Dhinakaran, OPS, Sengottaiyan address the media together
Earlier, in Ramanathapuram, Mr. Dhinakaran described the meeting as a sign of unity and said further developments would follow soon. At a joint press conference after paying tribute to Thevar, he said, “The merger could be seen as the beginning of overthrowing the traitors; restoring the good rule of Amma (former CM Jayalalithaa); and bringing all her followers under one umbrella.”
VK Sasikala, O. Panneerselvam and KA Sengottaiyan at the Muthuramalinga Thevar Memorial at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram District on October 30, 2025 | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Mr. Dhinakaran said he and Mr. Panneerselvam were already together and Mr. Sengottaiyan, a staunch loyalist of Jayalalithaa, joining them was a new development.
“I have always insisted that to regain Jayalalithaa’s government, we, her followers, should come together,” Mr. Panneerselvam said. When they “received the blessings” of Thevar, they believed that further positive developments would follow.
Mr. Sengottaiyan said they had come together to honor Jayalalithaa’s sacrifices. “I sought unification with the aim of ousting the DMK government and bringing the AIADMK back to power,” he added.
Published – 30 Oct 2025 23:09 IST
