CHENNAI: The power struggle within the AIADMK escalated sharply on Tuesday after senior leader C Ve Shanmugam publicly rejected any possibility of aligning with the DMK and claimed that the majority of the party’s MLAs had backed former minister S P Velumani as leader of the AIADMK legislature party.Addressing reporters after another round of consultations with MLAs and district secretaries, Shanmugam said proposals to form a government with DMK support went against the very foundation of the AIADMK.“Some people proposed that the AIADMK legislative party should form a government with the support of the DMK. This is against the founding principles of our party because AIADMK was created to uproot the DMK, which we consider an evil force in Tamil Nadu,” Shanmugam said.The remarks came amid deepening turmoil in the party following its electoral defeat and the widening rebellion against AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS).Shanmugam said repeated election defeats had triggered demands within the party for a broader review of leadership and strategy.“In the recently concluded election and even in the previous election, we suffered defeat. We requested the general secretary to convene a General Council meeting to discuss the reasons behind these defeats and to decide the future course for the growth of the party,” he said.He alleged that a proposal had emerged within one section of the party to seek power with DMK backing, but claimed the majority of AIADMK legislators strongly opposed the move.“Our legislators and cadres are against aligning with the DMK. If the AIADMK joins hands with the DMK, the party will be wiped out in the future. Therefore, the legislative party passed a resolution opposing such a proposal,” he said.In a major assertion of strength against the EPS camp, Shanmugam announced that the majority of MLAs had elected S P Velumani as floor leader of the AIADMK legislature party, while G Hari was chosen deputy leader.He further claimed that Palaniswami had proposed becoming chief minister with DMK support, but said the idea was rejected by most legislators.“Edappadi K Palaniswami had proposed that he would become chief minister with the support of the DMK; however, the majority of legislators did not accept this proposal,” Shanmugam alleged.According to him, the legislature party had instead decided to remain outside any alliance for now while extending support to the TVK government headed by actor-politician Vijay.“The AIADMK is not in an alliance with any party and a new alliance must be formed. Accepting the people’s verdict, the AIADMK legislative party has decided to extend support to the TVK government,” he said, while insisting that the party would remain united despite the internal crisis.S P Velumani also sought to downplay speculation of a split and said the dissident camp’s actions were aimed at protecting the party.“We have no intention of splitting the AIADMK. We are concerned about the AIADMK,” Velumani said.The latest developments come amid competing claims over the AIADMK legislature party leadership. While EPS has staked claim as legislature party leader in his capacity as party general secretary, the rival Velumani-Shanmugam bloc has submitted separate representations seeking recognition for Velumani.The ongoing crisis is widely being seen as the most serious internal revolt in the AIADMK since the split that followed the death of J Jayalalithaa in 2016.(With agency inputs)
