Velumani, Viswanathan squarely blame Palaniswami for AIADMK’s weakening and electoral defeats since 2021

Published 9 August 2026 · india

Continuing to mount pressure on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, senior party leaders and former Ministers S.P. Velumani and Natham R. Viswanathan have opposed

Continuing to mount pressure on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, senior party leaders and former Ministers S.P. Velumani and Natham R. Viswanathan have opposed the removal of “more than 400 members” of the party general council and executive committee. They have also called for re-induction of the party's former interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala, and the former deputy general secretary, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, into the AIADMK. Among other charges, they said Mr. Palaniswami "did not use the opportunity to have an alliance with the TVK". An undated, four-page letter lays bare the internal affairs of the party since the 2021 Assembly election, listed the instances of possible alliances, including those with the BJP and the TVK, having failed to materialise, and pinned the blame on Mr. Palaniswami's leadership and handling of the party matters. The letter, meant for the "notice of the party general secretary" Mr. Palaniswami, was signed by Mr. Velumani and Mr. Viswanathan. "You have so far removed over 400 members of the party's general council and executive committee so that none should express any view contrary to yours," said the letter, which surfaced days after Mr. Velumani and others called on TVK general secretary and Minister N. Anand. Even after the party started losing strengthen since the 2026 Assembly election, functionaries who were discharging their duties efficiently in Coimbatore, Tiruppur, The Nilgiris, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Tenkasi, Villupuram, Tirupattur, Dharmapuri, Namakkal, Karur, Pudukkottai, and Perambalur were being removed from their posts, they said.

"This is not acceptable. It will only weaken the party." The functionaries, removed from their membership, were part of the AIADMK since its inception in 1972 and were instrumental in maintaining the party's electoral prospects thus far, they underlined. "The actions of the general secretary, which overlook their contributions to the party and weaken the party, should not continue. In the interest of the party, those who were removed should be given back their original positions," they said. Party functionaries were to be elected to local bodies, which was quite important, they said. "We need to strengthen the party for this." Amit Shah’s proposal The AIADMK lost the electoral prospects in 42 constituencies in the 2021 Assembly election, only because Mr. Palaniswami "disregarded" the proposal made by BJP leader and Union Minister Amit Shah to forge an alliance with Mr. Dhinakaran, which was accepted by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, they said. "You denied a seat to TTV [Mr. Dhinakaran]. You did not embrace the DMDK, the Puthiya Thamizhagam, and Mr. Sarath Kumar [who were with us from 2019] and let them go in the 2021 Assembly election." Even after the BJP's national leadership attempted repeatedly to forge an alliance by promising that all our demands would be fulfilled, "you acted arbitrarily and without thoughtfulness", which led to the DMK-Congress alliance securing all 40 seats [in the last Lok Sabha election], they said.