Senior AIADMK Leaders Reject Party Posts Offered By Edappadi K Palaniswami

On Tuesday, several former ministers and senior AIADMK functionaries in Chennai rejected party posts offered to them by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami as a truce. The disgruntled leaders sent a formal letter to Palaniswami expressing their strong displeasure over his style of functioning and unilateral decision-making.

The prominent signatories of the letter included former ministers Natham R Viswanathan, S P Velumani, P Thangamani, K P Anbalagan, K C Veeramani, and P Balakrishna Reddy, as well as Bhuvanagiri MLA A Arunmozhithevan. Their collective refusal marks a renewed internal rebellion and deep division within the leadership of the AIADMK.

According to party sources, the rebels alleged in their letter that the current leadership under Palaniswami is not accommodative and has failed to give due respect to senior members. The leaders are particularly upset with Palaniswami's decision not to restore them to their earlier positions as district secretaries, despite a previous promise he had reportedly made to them.

The internal rift was further highlighted on Tuesday when a recent video of S P Velumani addressing his supporters in Coimbatore surfaced. In the video, Velumani stated that he would not accept any party post while his own supporters were left in the lurch.

The roots of the current dispute date back to May 13, when Palaniswami removed 26 party functionaries, including 12 MLAs, from their posts as district secretaries. This disciplinary action was taken after the MLAs supported the TVK government during a crucial no-confidence motion.

Party insiders indicated that the rebel faction has decided to take the issue beyond the state party structure. The dissenting leaders have reportedly raised their grievances regarding Palaniswami's leadership with the BJP national leadership.