Sengottaiyan ‘crosses over’; weeds will be removed: EPS

RAMANATHAPURAM/MADURAI: After lying low ever since raising a flag of rebellion in September, disgruntled AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan took the challenge to party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to the next level on Thursday by attending the freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar’s Guru Pooja along with Palaniswami baiters, O Panneerselvam and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran.

The day and venue were symbolic: Palaniswami is facing criticisms that he expelled Thevar leaders VK Sasikala, Panneerselvam, and TTV Dhinakaran and allocated powerful positions to his supporters from the Gounder community. It was also audacious, as cozying up to critics is not taken lightly in the personality driven politics of Tamil Nadu.

In response, Palaniswami termed Panneerselvam and Dhinakaran as the DMK’s B-team, and added that he would not hesitate to expel Sengottaiyan if he worked against the party’s interests.

The day started with drama after it was known that Sengottaiyan was heading to Thevar memorial in Pasumpon along with Panneerselvam and Dhinakaran. There, the trio jointly paid floral tributes to Thevar and also performed 'Aarti'. If that was not enough, Sengottaiyan and Panneerselvam met Sasikala, once the interim general secretary of the AIADMK whom Palaniswami expelled, at Pasumpon after she paid homage.

Earlier, speaking to the media outside the memorial, again, all three standing shoulder-to-shoulder, Dhinakaran led the charge against Palaniswami and asserted that they would not rest until the "betrayer" was defeated and that they would together take on Palaniswami in the 2026 Assembly election.

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". He added that they have taken an oath to stay together to oust the DMK and bring back the regime once headed by iconic leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.

Reacting to the development, Palaniswami accused them of "scheming against AIADMK", and cited the case of the party’s loss from Anthiyur Assembly seat in western Tamil Nadu, considered an AIADMK's fortress, and blamed Sengottaiyan for it. The party could not retain power in 2021 only due to such "traitors", he said.

He also recalled Panneerselvam’s recent statement that the DMK would retain power and said, "They are functioning as DMK's B-team."

Asked on the hesitation to expel Sengottaiyan, Palaniswami said, “Whoever betrays the AIADMK, if they don’t toe the party line, appropriate action will be taken... whoever it may be, action is being taken," he said.