In what could be considered a smart move to exert pressure on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, former minister and senior leader K.A. Sengottaiyan, on Friday, pitched the need for inducting leaders who were expelled from the party. Sengottaiyan gave a 10-day ultimatum to Palaniswami, saying only a united AIADMK can ensure victory in the 2026 assembly elections.
“If the process is not initiated within 10 days, the like-minded people, who want the readmission of expelled leaders, will come together and do it,” Sengottaiyan said in a press conference at his constituency Gobichettipalayam.
Taking a leaf out of party founder M.G. Ramachandran’s style of working, he said there is no harm in taking back the expelled for the welfare of the party. “There were days when MGR readmitted leaders like S.D. Somasundaram, who rebelled against him,” Sengottaiyan said.
Sengottaiyan said six leaders, including Natham R. Viswanathan, S.P. Velumani, P. Thangamani, K.P. Anbalagan, and C.Ve. Shanmugam, met Palaniswami, demanding that the expelled leaders be readmitted. “But he did not accept our opinion. The expelled leaders wanted to rejoin the party without any conditions. I am saying this to ensure that the party does not suffer a split. I am ready for any sacrifice. Even when I got opportunities twice, I worked for the party’s unity.”
However, Sengottaiyan did not mention who he wants to be readmitted into the party—Sasikala, O. Panneerselvam or T.T.V. Dhinakaran. “As a general secretary of the party, I leave it to the leader to decide it.” He also said he will join the general secretary’s election campaign if this request is granted.
Sengottaiyan’s statement comes at a time when the call for a united AIADMK has been growing strong from all quarters. Sengottaiyan, who has been in a rebel mode for some time, had earlier called on the BJP leaders in Delhi, including Home Minister Amit Shah. Even during the press conference on Friday, he made a passing reference to the two big opportunities he had.
Though he did not mention what the two opportunities were, he was offered the post of chief minister by Sasikala in 2017, when O. Panneerselvam rebelled. When he met the BJP leadership in Delhi, he was offered a chance to take over the party leadership by creating a coup and ousting Palanisami. However, Sengaottaiyan, being a party loyalist and a man who had never rebelled against the party leadership in his political career spanning over 53 years, chose to maintain a low profile.
Now, Sengottaiyan’s statement and the ultimatum given to Palaniswami appeared to be a smart move to reunite the party and diminish the authority of the latter. If the move by Dhinakaran to quit the alliance, Sasikala’s statement to reunite the party and OPS choosing to walk away from NDA are external pressure on Palaniswami, Sengottaiyan’s is internal pressure.
Being a senior leader and a strongman from West Tamil Nadu, Sengottaiyan was the go-to man in AIADMK when Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs. He was the leader who would always prepare the road map and campaign route for Jayalalithaa. He was known to be a staunch MGR and Jayalalithaa loyalist who brought royals to the party.
