Tongues wag as EPS set to host MLAs on April 23

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is set to host a gathering for party legislators on April 23 at his camp office on Greenways Road, Chennai.

This meeting will mark the first such event hosted by Palaniswami after taking over as the chief of of the party. This meeting assumes further significance in the backdrop of the party’s senior leaders indulging in damage control measures over Amit Shah’s coalition government bombshell.

Several AIADMK MLAs confirmed to DT Next that they had been invited to the gathering scheduled for Wednesday late evening. It may be recalled that Palansiwami hosted a party for Union Home Minister and BJP senior leader Amit Shah at his camp office on April 11 after the latter announced the revival of the AIADMK-BJP alliance for the assembly polls in 2026.

Sources close to the AIADMK general secretary insisted that the gathering bears no political undertone, but the event’s timing has led to speculation. There are talks that Palaniswami is set to offer gifts to the attending MLAs. It is seen as an effort to placate legislators and district secretaries, who were reportedly taken aback by the sudden announcement of the party’s renewed alliance with the BJP.

“Many district secretaries and MLAs were kept in the dark about his surprise visit to Delhi and the subsequent meeting with Amit Shah. They were even more surprised when Shah publicly made announcements on April 11,” said a source close to Palaniswami. “While most accept that it’s a strategically sound move, the abruptness left many unsettled.”

However, senior party leaders downplayed it. “This is nothing new. During MGR’s time, he used to host gatherings for MLAs and their families,” recalled ex-minister S Semmalai.