'AIADMK has been steadily declining': CV Shanmugam targets EPS after removal from party posts

NEW DELHI: AIADMK leader CV Shanmugam on Wednesday lashed out at party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami after he, along with SP Velumani, C Vijayabaskar and several other leaders was removed from key party posts amid the deepening rebellion within the AIADMK.Speaking to reporters, Shanmugam alleged that the party has suffered continuous electoral setbacks ever since EPS assumed leadership after the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa.Referring to Palaniswami's response to criticism over repeated election defeats, Shanmugam said, "Today, when the General Secretary (EPS) is questioned about why we lost, he responds by asking, 'Didn’t the AIADMK lose in 1996? Didn’t we lose in 2006 as well?' Yes, we did lose. But Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had the capability to bring the party back to power again."Praising Jayalalithaa’s leadership, he said, "After every defeat, Amma would declare that she would restore MGR’s rule once more, and she succeeded in bringing the party back to office for a second term. It was Amma who delivered a massive victory in the 1998 Parliamentary elections. There was neither arrogance born out of victory nor a tendency to hide away after defeat."Shanmugam further alleged that the AIADMK’s electoral position had worsened under EPS's leadership."More specifically, after General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami assumed responsibility, not only have the defeats continued, but we should at least have been increasing our number of seats. Instead, with every election, our setbacks have become more severe, and we have been steadily declining," he said.Calling for an internal review of the party’s performance, he added, "The defeat faced by the AIADMK in the recently concluded Assembly elections must be discussed. We need to deliberate and analyse the reasons behind these continuous defeats. Particularly after Amma’s demise in 2016, we have been consistently facing defeats in Parliamentary elections, Assembly elections, by-elections, or local body elections."The remarks came hours after Palaniswami removed 25 rebel leaders and MLAs from party posts after they allegedly defied the party line and supported the TVK government during the confidence motion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.