AIADMK veteran Sengottaiyan joins hands with O Panneerselvam, TTV Dhinakaran

Veteran AIADMK leader K A Sengottaiyan, who had given a call in September for ''unity'' within the party, on Thursday joined expelled leaders O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran in paying homage to freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on his Guru pooja. Leading the charge, AMMK chief Dhinakaran, flanked by other leaders, targeted AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami and asserted that they would not rest until ''betrayal'' was defeated and that they would together take on Palaniswami in the 2026 Assembly election. Palaniswami, however, dismissed them coming together as inconsequential and called them ''DMK's B-team''. He said he was not hesitant to expel Sengottaiyan from the party. Earlier, Panneerselvam, Sengottaiyan and Dhinakaran jointly paid floral tributes to Thevar at his memorial at Pasumpon near here and also performed 'Aarti.' Later, Panneerselvam and Sengottaiyan met expelled leader, former AIADMK interim general secretary V K Sasikala, at Pasumpon after she paid homage. Panneerselvam, who heads the AIADMK Workers Rights Retrieval Committee, said they have come together with confidence and the aim is to bring together all ''AIADMK forces.'' Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS, said they have taken an oath to stay together and usher in again, the rule of iconic leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa and unseat the DMK from power. Welcoming Sengottaiyan, Dhinakaran said the objective was to beat ''betrayal'' and bring back the rule of MGR and Jayalalithaa by bringing together Amma's cadres. The AMMK leader said his party, Sengottaiyan and Panneerselvam, will work together for the 2026 Assembly election. ''The AMMK will not stop till defeating betrayal,'' he told reporters. Both Dhinakaran and Panneerselvam asserted that Sasikala is with them in their fight against Palaniswami. The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief said betrayal must be defeated, and the AIADMK, which is Amma's party is not AMMK's enemy and Palaniswami, who ''symbolises betrayal'', was the enemy. ''We do not consider anyone else as our enemy,'' he said. Reacting to the development, Palaniswami accused them of ''scheming'' for the past about 4 years. He sought to know why the party could not win in Anthiyur in western Tamil Nadu, considered AIADMK's fortress and blamed Sengottaiyan for it. The AIADMK chief hit out at them for working against party interests even when they were with the party. The AIADMK could not capture power in 2021 in Tamil Nadu only due to such ''traitors'' and in view of their underhand tactics. ''They are functioning as DMK's B-team,'' he alleged and asserted that the true AIADMK is the one led by him. ''It is a waste of time to discuss them,'' he said, answering a question.

In order to ensure good growth of crops, the weeds have to be removed. ''It was done and there will be a good harvest, the AIADMK will form the government,'' he said. Palaniswami said Panneerselvam had only two days ago claimed that the DMK would retain power in 2026 polls and wanted to know if ''he is an AIADMK person?...such words will not come from a true AIADMK person,'' he said. When Panneerselvam's clarification on Thursday was brought to his notice, he declined to accept it. Panneerselvam asserted that he had not said that the DMK would capture power. Further, OPS clarified that he had commented that if true Amma's followers did not join forces, the DMK may retain power. Asked on the ''hesitation'' to expel Sengottaiyan from the AIADMK, Palaniswami, addressing a press conference, said there was no hesitation and such an action would follow only hereafter and Sengottaiyan had already been removed from his party posts. ''As regards the AIADMK, whoever betrays; if they do not fully toe the party line, appropriate action will be taken... whoever it may be, action is being taken,'' he said. On the SIR exercise, he said it is done by officials and personnel of the state government, and hence, it should be impartial and the state government must not interfere in the exercise.

To a question on alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise in Bihar state, he wondered whether the court concurred with that allegation of wrongdoing. Palaniswami said that neither his party nor the actor-politician Vijay led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam have held any talks over forging an alliance for the 2026 Assembly polls.

He once again exuded confidence that the AIADMK would get a majority on its own and form the government in 2026 and a rattled DMK is opposing SIR only to find out a reason in advance for its electoral defeat, set to happen next year. ''The AIADMK supports SIR as proper electoral rolls will ensure proper election.''