'Wolf and sheep can't co-exist': Palaniswami indicates Panneerselvam has no place in AIADMK

Though expelled AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam expressed his willingness to return to the party, the doors do not seem open yet for him. 

On Sunday, AIADMK general secretary Edappad K. Palaniswami hinted that the party would not take back the former chief minister.

"Can the wolf and sheep co-exist? Can weeds and crops be part of a harvest? Can the loyalist and traitor stand shoulder-to-shoulder? I hear your assertive no," Palaniswami said in a letter to the party cadres.

These remarks are seen as a veiled response to Panneerselvam, a former aide of late party supremo J. Jayalalithaa.

Palaniswami's letter to the party workers came ahead of the 77th birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK plunged into a deep internal crisis following the death of the former chief minister with Palaniswami and Panneerselvam vying for power, which later resulted in the expulsion of Panneerselvam from the party on July 11, 2022.

Days ago, Panneersevam expressed his willingness to return to the party but insisted that the all-powerful general secretary post in the party should be elected by cadres.

"I, T.T.V. Dinakaran and Sasikala (who were also expelled from the AIADMK) are ready to unite with the AIADMK without any conditions. We can sort out the issues through talks," he had said.

There were rumours that Panneerselvam had spoken to senior AIADMK leader and former minister K.A. Sengottaiyan about his willingness to return to the party.

Asked about it by reporters, Panneerselvam said he had been talking over the phone to those in the AIADMK who were supportive of "joining hands".

Sengottaiyan had recently created a flutter by skipping an event to felicitate Palaniswami in Coimbatore. He, however, later ruled out any rift in the party.