AIADMK Under Pressure as Leadership Rift Deepens Before Key Meeting
Chennai, October 29: The AIADMK is preparing for a key meeting of its district secretaries as internal strains grow. General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has called the session for November 1, at a time when the party is contending with defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections, poor results in recent by-elections and a rebellion within its senior ranks that has yet to be resolved.
The meeting's agenda has not been disclosed, but its importance is widely recognised. The party must hold its General Council and Executive Committee meetings by December, and the outcome of this session may shape those preparations. Observers will be watching closely to see how the leadership responds to demands for a review of the organisation and an analysis of the reasons behind its repeated electoral reversals.
The session will be the first gathering of district secretaries since the AIADMK came third in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections earlier this month. Both constituencies had been held by the party after the April Assembly polls, so losing them has been a particularly painful blow.
The by-election reverses added to the disappointment of the Assembly results, where the AIADMK won 47 seats and was unable to return to government. The loss of the two seats it had previously held has further deepened discontent within the party and prompted fresh questions about its electoral planning and leadership.
Among the leaders pressing for action are former minister C.V. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani, who have called for a meeting of the party's policy-making bodies to discuss the repeated defeats. Their call carries added weight after the latest results, and disgruntled leaders have been holding more frequent consultations.
The rift took shape after the Assembly elections, when 25 AIADMK MLAs broke ranks with the leadership and backed the TVK government in the trust vote held in May.
Palaniswami responded by removing several dissenting leaders from organisational posts and appointing others to key district positions. Certain senior figures were later given new responsibilities, though they were not reinstated as district secretaries. Velumani, for example, was made deputy general secretary but did not regain control of the Coimbatore South district unit, so the dispute over district influence remains open.
The divisions were visible during the by-election campaign as well. Shanmugam, Velumani and former minister P. Thangamani did not feature on the party's list of star campaigners, a move that underlined the continuing gap between the leadership and the dissident group ahead of an important electoral contest.
All attention is now on whether Sunday's meeting leads to a serious review of the defeats and paves the way for the General Council's preparations. Any decision on organisational responsibilities or reconciliation could influence how the party responds to its electoral and internal challenges in the coming weeks.