T.V.K. won the by-elections held in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies. The A.I.A.D.M.K., which had won both these constituencies in the last general election, not only lost them in this election but was also pushed to third place. In the Dharapuram constituency, the A.I.A.D.M.K. was in first place in the first four rounds, but later suffered a setback and ultimately slipped to third place. While this has caused disappointment among A.I.A.D.M.K. cadres, S.P. Velumani’s supporters have become enthusiastic. As a result, the internal party conflict between the two sides has reached its peak.
’Reduction in the importance of S.P. Velumani’
Regarding this, supporters of S.P. Velumani said, “Because of his pro-government stance toward the T.V.K. government, S.P. Velumani had been separated, and even after he rejoined, he was not given due importance. His old positions were not restored. Someone else was appointed district secretary even in his own constituency. Edappadi Palaniswami gave him the powerless dummy post of deputy general secretary. The party posts of S.P. Velumani’s supporters were stripped away. Many were removed from the party.
In the last general election, S.P. Velumani was the election in-charge for the Dharapuram constituency. He was also instrumental in ensuring that the AIADMK won by a large margin. But in this by-election, instead of appointing him as the election in-charge, they insulted him by assigning him responsibility for just four wards. Because of that, he stayed away from direct election work. Edappadi Palaniswami acts as if he alone is the big leader. He refuses to embrace people like S.P. Velumani. He does not listen to anything others say. That is why the AIADMK not only lost in Dharapuram, but was pushed to third place.
‘The leadership must be changed’
Under Edappadi Palaniswami’s leadership, the AIADMK has been suffering defeat repeatedly. This is not only the 13th defeat, but he has not been able to lead the AIADMK to victory in any election. As a result, AIADMK workers are in distress. Instead of doing anything else, he only expels from the party those who say the reasons for the party’s defeats should be examined. The party’s general council should be convened to investigate the reasons for the repeated defeats. Someone like S.P. Velumani should be made the general secretary. We will continue to raise our voice for that. Otherwise, there will be a situation where we have to leave the AIADMK and join the TVK,” they said.
“Internal sabotage is the reason for the defeats”
When asked about this, supporters of Edappadi Palaniswami said, “Tharapuram is one of the strongholds of the AIADMK. Although by-elections tend to favor the ruling party, what was the reason that the AIADMK, which won last time, could not even come second? Even if the AIADMK had won by mistake, they would have had to accept Edappadi Palaniswami’s leadership. Because of that, the SP Velumani faction carried out behind-the-scenes work to ensure the AIADMK’s defeat. Even so, the AIADMK did not lose its deposit. The vote difference between the DMK and the AIADMK is small. So the AIADMK has not lost its strength. The AIADMK will regain strength again. But people like SP Velumani, for their own selfish interests, are spreading views that the party leadership should be changed. No true AIADMK cadre will accept this,” they said.