C Ve Shanmugam Blames EPS for AIADMK Defeats, Demands General Council Meet

Former AIADMK minister C Ve Shanmugam on Monday launched a sharp attack against party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami over the party's recent electoral performance, demanding that a general council meeting be convened immediately. Speaking to reporters at the secretariat in Chennai, Shanmugam held Palaniswami directly responsible for a string of election losses and challenged him to call the general council to discuss the party’s performance and related internal matters.

Shanmugam addressed the press at the secretariat alongside former ministers K P Anbazhagan and Natham R Viswanathan. The open confrontation against Palaniswami comes just a day after another senior leader, S P Velumani, wrote a detailed letter cornering the party leadership over the present political situation facing the AIADMK.

In his assessment of the election results, Shanmugam stated that the party had been completely wiped out in Chennai as well as its neighbouring districts. He noted that the AIADMK faced a similar outcome across the delta and southern districts of the state, where its electoral showing was poor. According to Shanmugam, the party's only saving grace was its performance in the northern districts, which he attributed specifically to its electoral alliance with the PMK.

Shanmugam raised questions regarding accountability within the AIADMK, targeting Palaniswami's management of election outcomes. He stated that whenever the party succeeds in elections, the full credit for the electoral success is attributed to Palaniswami. However, he questioned whether district secretaries are expected to take the blame whenever the party encounters defeat.

Identifying the primary reasons behind the party's repeated electoral defeats, Shanmugam cited the failure of the leadership to form a strong alliance. He also pointed to the party's failure to bring back leaders who had previously departed from the AIADMK as a major contributing factor to its current standing.

Shanmugam added that party members had originally chosen Palaniswami under the belief that he would prove to be a strong leader for the organization. However, he remarked that the AIADMK has consistently faced defeats ever since Palaniswami assumed charge of the party leadership. He reiterated his demand for a general council meeting to formally address these organizational issues and review election outcomes.