Is Palaniswami Upset With AIADMK's Cadre Over Lok Sabha Poll Work?

Days after the conclusion of the single-phase Lok Sabha elections for 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, it has now been reported that the AIADMK General Secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is not happy with the cadre's work in the recently-concluded polls.

The AIADMK chief had a closed-door meeting with the party functionaries and candidates in Chennai and surrounding districts. It was attended by district secretaries and election in-charges as well where he expressed his displeasure over the campaign works by some of them without taking their names. Senior leaders such as C Ponnaiyan, D Jayakumar, Gokula Indira, and several others were present at the meeting.

As part of the alliance, this seat was alloted to partner DMDK, which nominated B Parathasarathy against the DMK heavyweight and incumbent MP Dayanidhi Maran and the BJP's Vinoj P Selvam.

"Our leader was not happy with the way things took place in Chennai Central constituency in particular. After the polling, DMDK leader Premalatha Vijayakanth flagged the issues on lack of cooperation during campaigns," a senior functionary told the website on the condition of anonymity. Sources further claimed that Palaniswami spoke about the unwavering loyalty of the party cadres to the late leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa while pointing out that it is missing now.

He claimed that the current political atmosphere favoured the AIADMK and urged party workers to capitalize on this momentum to regain power in the 2026 assembly polls.

One of the candidates who ran in the Lok Sabha elections said, "Our leader asked us to build the moment that guarantees the return of Amma (Jayalalithaa) government in the forthcoming elections,"

According to surveys conducted by Delhi-based media outlets, the AIADMK, a well-established Dravidian party, is projected to receive a lower vote share compared to the BJP, which has been striving to make its mark in Tamil Nadu politics. Led by K Annamalai, the saffron party has made considerable efforts to secure a few seats and, notably, to expand its voter base.

However, the ruling DMK has said that the AIADMK remains its primary opponent. In an interview before the polling, Stalin said the saffron party has no influence in the state and the DMK"s primary opponent continues to be the AIADMK.

"The BJP has no influence of its own in Tamil Nadu. They do, however, want to create a hype of having influence. But the peace-loving people of Tamil Nadu will never accept the communal politics of the BJP, their violent activities. The election battle in Tamil Nadu is therefore between the DMK and the AIADMK," he added.

Stalin stated that the BJP is using the weakness of the AIADMK to create "imaginary competition, using the media".