Won’t re-induct expelled leaders into AIADMK: EPS tells Amit Shah

This message was conveyed to Union Home Minister when Palaniswami met him at his official residence in New Delhi.

Chennai: Digging his heels in, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has conveyed to the BJP leadership that he is sternly opposed to the readmission of expelled leaders such as V K Sasikala, T T V Dhinakaran, and O Panneerselvam into the party. 

This message was conveyed to the Union Home Minister when Palaniswami met him at his official residence in New Delhi on Tuesday night.

Palaniswami also discussed the ways and means to strengthen the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu by reaching out to small parties in the coming months with Shah.

The discussions also centered around the “unification” of the AIADMK and the BJP granting audience to senior party leader K A Sengottaiyan after he was removed from party posts by EPS for setting a 10-day deadline to launch efforts to unite the party. 

“EPS made it clear once again that the AIADMK was united. He impressed upon Shah to respect the AIADMK’s decision not to entertain any calls to admit the expelled trio into the party,” a source in the party aware of the developments told DH. 

Though Palaniswami has been reiterating his position for the past four years – he had rejected Shah’s idea to induct Dhinakaran into the NDA for the 2021 elections – he has come under pressure to “unify” the AIADMK from BJP and other parties in the past few months with an eye on the 2026 elections. 

BJP and Shah have been pushing Palaniswami for the readmission of the leaders to ensure that the votes of Mukulathors – a politically and socially dominant community spread across Central and Southern parts of Tamil Nadu – are not split, giving an advantage to the already formidable DMK alliance. 

TTV and OPS’ presence in the NDA led the combine push the AIADMK into the third place in many Lok Sabha constituencies in 2024 polls, but Palaniswami believes their appeal is limited and won’t impact the party in the 2026 elections.  

“It was also conveyed to Shah subtly that none of the three leaders are seen as representing Mukulathors. It is with this motive that EPS requested Shah that the Union Government should confer the country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, on Muthuramalinga Thevar,” the source added. 

Thevar is a polarising figure who is revered by the Mukulathors and denounced by Dalits. 

It is also believed that Palaniswami told Shah that the AIADMK will not have problems in TTV’s AMMK or OPS being part of the NDA. “He is understood to have told Shah that the BJP can ally with nay party and share seats allotted to them. But their readmission into the AIADMK is a strict No,” the source added. 

The meeting between Shah and Palaniswami came weeks after TTV also quit the NDA – OPS walked out in July – indirectly blaming Palaniswami for his decision. TTV had publicly criticised TN BJP chief Nainar Nagendran of not respecting alliance partners who have been with the BJP since 2024. 

Dhinakaran had also refused to accept Palaniswami as the CM candidate of the NDA.