K.A. Sengottaiyan, one of the senior most leaders of the AIADMK, was on Friday expelled from the party by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, citing anti-party activities. The move to remove him from the party comes a day after Sengottaiyan met with former chief minister O. Panneerselvam, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran and rebel leader V.K. Sasikala during the Thevar Jayanthi celebrations at Pasumpon near Ramanathapuram.
Sengottaiyan travelled in the same car with OPS and Dhinakaran on Thursday to Pasumpon to pay homage to Muthuramalinga Thevar. “Sengottaiyan had acted in a manner detrimental to the unity, integrity and discipline of the AIADMK and had repeatedly violated the directives of the party leadership. Despite being fully aware that the party leaders should not have any truck with those who were expelled from the party, he engaged with such elements tarnishing the party’s image and reputation,” Palanisami said in a statement while removing Sengottaiyan from the basic membership of the party.
By sacking Sengottaiyan, EPS had sent a strong message to the party cadres and the other office bearers, that he will not accommodate the rebels or the expelled leaders of the party at any point of time. The expulsion is again a stern warning to those, including the BJP leaders, who press for a reunion. The BJP has been subtly pushing for a reunion of the AIADMK.
Incidentally, the BJP high command in Delhi, according to insiders, had been asking Palanisami to accommodate the expelled leaders to strengthen the alliance. During his meeting with home minister Amit Shah in September, Palanisami is said to have categorically told the BJP that he will not accommodate OPS, Dhinakaran and Sasikala at any point of time. EPS believes that bringing the trio back into the party could lead to a power tussle within the party and might turn out to be a challenge to his leadership. In fact in September, days before meeting Amit Shah, Palanisami removed Sengottaiyan from all party posts.
Earlier, Sengottaiyan upped his ante against the leadership, saying that the party should reunite. Pitching the need for inducting the expelled leaders like OPS, Dhinakaran and Sasikala back into the party, Sengottaiyan, during a press conference in September, gave a 10-day ultimatum to Palaniswami, saying that a united AIADMK can only lead the party to victory in the 2026 assembly general elections. His rebellion came up after EPS rejected the call by six former ministers, including him, to request the party leadership bring back the expelled leaders. The meeting, according to Sengottaiyan, happened at EPS’s residence at Salem, soon after the party’s debacle in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Being a senior leader and a strongman from west Tamil Nadu, Sengottaiyan was the go-to man in the AIADMK when Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs. The staunch MGR and Jayalalithaa loyalist was tasked with preparing the road map and campaign route for Jayalalithaa. Though Sengottaiyan doesn't command a strong following in the region, he is seen as one of the prominent faces, with a strong base in Gobichettipalayam, Sathyamangalam and parts of Erode. While his expulsion might not dent the AIADMK votes in the western region, the party has lost in the perception battle. AIADMK, which once under Jayalalithaa commanded more than 35 per cent votes, has lost its sheen in the past four elections under EPS. Leaders like Sengottiayan, apparently, have been strong contributors to the party’s vote bank. While the expulsion of OPS and the Dhinakaran’s AMMK has caused a dent in the AIADMK’s vote bank in south Tamil Nadu, Sengottaiyan’s expulsion may lead to a minor dip in the party’s vote share in west Tamil Nadu. Sengottaiyan, who expected his expulsion from the party a month before, is likely to give his side of the story on Saturday.