EPS packs up: 15 yr, 1 bungalow, and a new political chapter for AIADMK chief

Chennai: In a move with some political and emotional significance, AIADMK general secretary and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has moved out of his long-time official residence ‘Sevvanthi’ on Greenways Road. For 15 years, this bungalow served as the nerve center of his political rise, surviving dramatic shifts in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape.

At Palaniswami’s request, the previous DMK govt led by M K Stalin allowed the former chief minister to continue staying in ‘Sevvanthi’. Palaniswami was leader of the opposition during the DMK regime.

The AIADMK chief has now relocated to an independent house on Deivasigamani Street in Royapettah’s Balaji Nagar in Chennai. Strategically, the new address is just 200 meters away from the party headquarters MGR Maaligai. On Friday morning, Palaniswami visited his new home and performed special poojas to mark the transition. He is yet to shift his belongings from the ministers’ bungalow.

The Greenways Road bungalow was first allotted to Palaniswami back in 2011 when he joined then chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet. Even after his meteoric rise to CM’s chair in Feb 2017 (following Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016), Palaniswami chose to stay put in the same house rather than upgrade it.

He continued to occupy the residence through his tenures as minister, cm (2017-2021) and leader of the opposition (May 2021- March 2026), remaining there until the end of DMK regime this year.

“Since the bungalow was allotted to him during Amma’s regime when he became PWD minister in 2011, he preferred to stay there until now,” an AIADMK leader from EPS camp said, noting that the leader was understandably “disheartened” to finally vacate the space.

To ensure a smooth shift, Palaniswami had requested a two-month extension from the state PWD, which maintains ministers’ bungalows, to move out.

The relocation comes at a turbulent time for the leader. Since the party’s recent electoral debacle, which saw the AIADMK lose its status as the official opposition in the state’s 17th assembly, Palaniswami has been weathering a fierce internal storm.