Amit Shah hosts AIADMK's Sengottaiyan, embarrasses Palaniswami

Chennai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has embarrassed AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami by hosting senior leader K A Sengottaiyan — who was removed from his party posts last week for speaking in favour of “unifying” the party — in New Delhi on Monday night.

The meeting has caused yet another strain in the AIADMK-BJP relationship, which was revived in April 2025 after a messy separation in September 2023.

Sengottaiyan, one of the stalwarts of the AIADMK hailing from the western region of the state like Palaniswami, broke the news about his meeting with Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reporters on Tuesday evening upon his arrival in Coimbatore from New Delhi. His meetings also come close on the heels of T T V Dhinakaran walking out of the NDA, blaming Palaniswami’s rigidity in accommodating his party in the alliance.

“I discussed the efforts regarding unification of the AIADMK and about other political developments in the state,” Sengottaiyan said, giving credence to speculation that he raised the ‘unify AIADMK’ slogan at the behest of the BJP.

On September 5, Sengottaiyan pushed for a unified AIADMK by re-inducting expelled leaders – V K Sasikala, her nephew Dhinakaran, and former chief minister O Panneerselvam – into the party to make the party “battle-ready” for the 2026 polls. He also issued a 10-day deadline to Palaniswami to start the process, saying he himself would spearhead the effort along with “like-minded” leaders if the ultimatum was not heeded.

Acting swiftly, Palaniswami removed Sengottaiyan, a nine-time MLA, and his supporters from all party posts, asserting his authority in the AIADMK.

However, Shah and Sitharaman choosing to give an audience to Sengottaiyan, who is facing the wrath of his own party leadership, has led to questions about whether the BJP is once again trying to fish in the troubled AIADMK waters. The Home Minister told the media in April 2025 in Chennai that the BJP won’t interfere in the internal affairs of the AIADMK.

Shah and Sitharaman meeting Sengottaiyan, which was kept secret until it was revealed by the AIADMK leader, has not gone down well with the Dravidian party, which feels the development questions the leadership of Palaniswami and his decisions.

“Sengottaiyan was relieved of all his party posts last week and we don’t understand the need for Amit Shah or Nirmala Sitharaman to meet him. What message do they intend to send? Why should the BJP host a leader who has just spoken against his own party’s leadership?” an AIADMK leader asked.

Sengottaiyan’s meetings with BJP leaders have put Palaniswami in a delicate position, as he has been fiercely resisting demands to re-induct expelled leaders into the AIADMK.

The biggest question is, will Palaniswami act against Sengottaiyan for discussing internal party affairs with leaders of the alliance party, much like he did for advocating unity in the party?

Some AIADMK leaders feel the BJP has given on a platter an opportunity to walk out of the alliance and Palaniswami should just seize the moment and act accordingly.

“This has been an inorganic alliance from the time it was stitched together in 2019. This alliance hasn’t registered victory in two elections and that is why we left in 2023. But we don’t know why the alliance was revived despite knowing the BJP’s plans. I think it is time for EPS to assert his authority yet again,” a senior AIADMK leader told DH.