AIADMK must exorcise factionalism, and EPS has no magic wand

Winning just 47 seats and getting relegated to the third place in the April assembly election, AIADMK has entered a phase of fight for survival. Edappadi K Palaniswami, 72, who managed to keep the party intact through the turmoil following J Jayalalithaa’s death in Dec 2016, now faces the challenge of keeping ‘two leaves’ alive without the sunlight of power.The foremost challenge comes from within, as the recent rebellion by a group of MLAs led by C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani showed. In AIADMK, internal democracy is fast slipping into indiscipline. The elongating string of defeats has worsened infighting and stressed the district-level machinery that has long been the party’s backbone.Voices of dissent are aplenty. “Edappadi’s ego and authoritarianism made 25 MLAs to support the TVK govt,” said a senior AIADMK leader. “Even after the rebel group agreed for a truce, he refused to reinstate the MLAs in their party positions.”This time, AIADMK won 47 seats, finished second in 45, and slipped to third in 80, its poorest performance since the 1996 rout under J Jayalalithaa. It is also the second defeat with EPS as the chief ministerial face (In 2021, the party won 66 seats). Four of its MLAs have resigned, ostensibly to join TVK; more are likely to follow suit.Party functionaries say if EPS has to stop the party from withering away, he should first realize his limitations and delegate powers. “He is not Amma,” said a former minister. “Because of his insecurity, he refuses to empower others. We have to think of a younger leadership, especially with competitors like Vijay, Udhayanidhi, Annamalai, Anbumani and Seeman.”Soon after the May 4 results, AIADMK MLAs were moved to a resort off East Coast Road. “As a hung assembly seemed likely, he sought all the MLAs’ signatures to stake claim as chief minister with DMK support, but the plan did not materialise,” said a party leader. Later, senior functionaries fought with EPS over delaying his response to a plan to back VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan as chief minister and AIADMK members as ministers with the support of DMK. That evening, Thirumavalavan extended support to the TVK govt.Ahead of the local body polls, AIADMK must choose between rebuilding itself as a standalone force and seeking new allies. Going alone may exhibit confidence; it could also expose organisational weakness. An alliance may offer numerical gains, but getting the right allies will be tough. “Sensing a groundswell for Vijay, some AIADMK leaders had pushed for an alliance with Vijay in December 2025 – so did the BJP national leadership later – but EPS overruled the proposal. “A leader should be tactically flexible,” said a former AIADMK minister who faulted EPS for not accommodating DMDK and Puthiya Tamilagam in the alliance.AIADMK must redefine what it stands for beyond being ‘not DMK,’ as rivals expand their footprint in the fandom-driven era.The party is steeped in legal wrangles. Petitions filed by former ministers S P Velumani and Natham R Viswanathan with Election Commission of India over the election symbol have not been withdrawn. The rebel MLAs may have avoided disqualification by submitting regret letters within 15 days of the grace period; former minister C Ve Shanmugam, who led the rebellion, did not, though EPS later condoned the actions of all the rebel MLAs.Incidentally, Shanmugam stood by Palaniswami against all storms, and played a key role in reverting to single leadership in 2022. The rebel group had collected 1,400 signatures – which is more than the required numbers as per party bylaw - from the general council members to seek a special general council meeting to discuss.For his part, EPS has removed 30 district secretaries, reorganised 82 district units into 80, and appointed 23 new secretaries. Their demand to return to the status ante quo remains unanswered and office-bearers have taken charge. EPS has to set his house in order before setting off on another electoral expedition.