Trouble for Palaniswami? Sengottaiyan to address media on Sep 3; might push to bring in Sasikala, OPS & Dhinakaran

Chennai: In fresh trouble for the AIADMK, senior party leader K A Sengottaiyan on Tuesday said he will “speak his heart” on Friday, amid speculation that he will rebel against Edappadi K Palaniswami and pitch the need for inducting expelled leaders V K Sasikala, O Panneerselvam, and T T V Dhinakaran into the party.

Sengottaiyan, an influential leader from western Tamil Nadu from where Palaniswami also hails, has been sulking for the past several months upset over the functioning of the AIADMK. However, he praised Palaniswami’s leadership during his speech in the Assembly earlier this year.

Sengottaiyan coming out in the open against the leadership was surprising as he is known for his soft-spoken and non-rebellious nature. Though speculation mounted whether Sengottaiyan was planning to quit the AIADMK, sources close to him said that option was ruled out and the senior leader will continue to remain in the party.

“He met his supporters on Tuesday and told them that he was interested in uniting the party by bringing together all factions. This makes it clear that he will remain in the AIADMK but flag some issues with the current leadership and ask for remedial measures,” a source told DH.

Sengottaiyan’s meeting with his supporters and his message to the media that he will speak his heart on Friday comes close on the heels of Sasikala asserting that she will unite the party to defeat the DMK.

The latest development brings to the fore the simmering differences among senior leaders of the AIADMK over the way Palaniswami has been running the party ever since he was named as the general secretary by the General Council in July 2022 following the expulsion of O Panneerselvam. And, the party hasn’t registered a victory in any election held since 2016.

Sengottaiyan, who had worked closely with MGR and credited by Jayalalithaa for his organisational skills especially drafting her election campaign plan, also hails from the influential Gounder community much like Palaniswami.

In fact, Sengottaiyan was also one of the front-runners for the CM’s post when V K Sasikala had to step aside and declare a new AIADMK legislature party leader after her conviction in a corruption case and is a senior to Palaniswami in the party.