In a move aimed at asserting his authority and sending a clear warning to dissenters, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday removed veteran party leader and Gobichettipalayam MLA K A Sengottaiyan from the post of organisation secretary and as secretary of the party’s Erode Rural West District unit.
The decision came a day after Sengottaiyan, a nine-time legislator, issued a ten-day ultimatum to Palaniswami demanding the readmission of expelled leaders, including former chief minister O Panneerselvam, AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, and VK Sasikala.
Alongside Sengottaiyan, Palaniswami also removed eight of his supporters from various party posts, though none of them were expelled from the AIADMK. The official statement announcing the removals gave no reasons for the action.
Mettupalayam MLA and organising secretary AK Selvaraj was appointed secretary in-charge of the Erode Rural West District unit in Sengottaiyan’s place.
Reacting to his removal, Sengottaiyan told reporters in Erode that the leadership should have followed democratic norms and sought his explanation first.
He described the decision as unexpected but vowed to continue efforts to unify the party. “They removed me from the party post for that … time will give the answer,” he said.
Others stripped of posts included K A Subramanian, Nambiyur north union secretary; M Eswaramoorthy, Nambiyur south union secretary; N D Kurunjinathan, Gobichettipalayam west union secretary; M Devaraj, Anthiyur north union secretary; S S Ramesh, Athani town panchayat secretary; T Marudhamuthu, Athani town panchayat deputy secretary; KS Mohan Kumar, deputy secretary of the party’s Erode zonal IT wing; and A Sithuraj, Palladam south union secretary.
Sengottaiyan maintained that his appeal to bring back the expelled leaders reflected the sentiments of party cadres and was aimed at ensuring a strong victory for the AIADMK in the 2026 assembly elections.
Without naming anyone, he added that several party functionaries had called him after his remarks on Friday, expressing support.
“Everyone says what I have said is right. The public and cadres want the AIADMK to win. The functionaries expelled from the party are also willing. Someone from Kancheepuram has said he was ready to prostrate before the general secretary to rejoin the AIADMK. However, no steps have been taken in this regard,” Sengottaiyan said.
He also claimed that leaders such as Dhinakaran, BJP’s Nainar Nagenthran, H Raja, and DMDK’s Premalatha Vijayakanth had expressed support, validating his stance.
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When asked about senior AIADMK leader S Semmalai’s criticism that setting a deadline for the leadership was inappropriate, Sengottaiyan responded, “He may have spoken like that because he is with the AIADMK leadership.”
Party sources indicated that more of Sengottaiyan’s supporters in Erode may step down from their positions. Meanwhile, Palaniswami’s supporters in Nambiyur celebrated the move, bursting crackers to welcome the action.
O Panneerselvam, speaking to reporters in Theni, criticised Palaniswami for taking action against Sengottaiyan, who, he said, had merely voiced his desire for party unity.
“He did not deliver any hate speech or comment on anyone in particular,” Panneerselvam said, adding that even late chief minister and party supremo J Jayalalithaa never punished those who expressed views for the party’s unity.
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