After bypoll defeats, AIADMK seniors plan leadership review, mount pressure on Palaniswami
Chennai: Senior AIADMK leaders have begun consultations on challenging General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s leadership, with the party’s defeats in the Maduranthakam and Dharapuram by-elections intensifying calls for accountability and organisational changes.
S.P. Velumani, C.Ve. Shanmugam, Natham R. Viswanathan, Thangamani and K.P. Anbalagan met at Velumani’s residence on Monday to discuss their next steps amid growing dissatisfaction over the party’s successive electoral setbacks.
According to sources, the leaders are likely to demand a meeting of the AIADMK General Council to examine its electoral performance and review decisions taken under Palaniswami, widely known as EPS.
The proposed demand would provide a forum to question the leadership’s handling of elections and press for changes in the organisation. The leaders believe the party requires a course correction following its repeated reverses, the sources said.
The latest consultations follow an unsuccessful attempt by the Velumani and Shanmugam camps to mobilise legislators to function as a separate group within the AIADMK in the Assembly. The two camps had sought the backing of 32 MLAs for that initiative. However, the effort failed to materialise, prompting the leaders to consider other avenues for exerting pressure within the party.
Their discussions are now expected to centre on securing a review through the General Council, rather than pursuing the earlier Assembly initiative.
Sources said the leaders were also examining possible steps if Palaniswami declined to convene the council. Their objective would be to bring the party’s performance and leadership before the organisational forum for discussion.
The by-election losses have added urgency to the deliberations, strengthening the leaders’ argument that the party must assess the reasons behind its electoral difficulties. They are preparing to cite setbacks since 2019, including the latest defeats in Maduranthakam and Dharapuram, while seeking accountability for decisions made by the leadership.
The meeting marks a renewed effort by the Velumani and Shanmugam camps to build internal pressure on Palaniswami after their earlier attempt to organise a legislative bloc did not succeed.
AIADMK senior leader said that leaders like S.P. Velumani will put more pressure on Palaniswami to hold a General Council meeting.
For now, the consultations point to a shift towards using the party’s organisational mechanisms to raise concerns about its electoral direction and press for a review of its functioning under Palaniswami.