'EPS has no such idea': Rebel AIADMK MLA Shanmugam turns 'betrayer' charge on party chief

NEW DELHI: The war of words intensified within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Wednesday after a section of MLAs voted for Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) during crutial floor test.After the trust vote, which Vijay won comfortably, AIADMK MLA CV Shanmugam rebelled against party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami and said: "There is a demand in the party, even before the election - all who have left or all who were expelled to be readmitted in the party so that the party can be strengthened and win the election. But he (EPS) has no such idea."Responding to remarks by Palaniswami, popularly known as EPS, the rebel leader said he had not betrayed the AIADMK, and instead accused the party’s general secretary of abandoning its core political line of opposing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)."I have not betrayed. Our party’s basic principle is to wipe out the DMK. For the past 50 years, we have been fighting against the DMK. But as the general secretary of the AIADMK, after being defeated in the election, to become CM went low and forgot the basic principles of AIADMK,” he said amid the escalating internal feud.Invoking the legacy of late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, the leader added that the party had not forgotten what it sees as the political persecution she faced under cases backed by the DMK. "Amma’s death was caused due to DMK’s false case, she was imprisoned and we lost her. But he forgot everything… You can say who the betrayer is," he said.Days after the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly election results, a section of AIADMK MLAs led by senior figures including C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani has openly rebelled against Palaniswami’s leadership, alleging that he had explored the possibility of aligning with the DMK to prevent actor-turned-politician Vijay from taking office.The rebellion coincided with Vijay’s crucial floor test in the Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday. The TVK-led government, which had fallen short of a majority after winning 108 seats in the 234-member House, secured outside support from Congress, Left parties, IUML and a rebelling AIADMK faction, eventually winning the trust vote with 144 MLAs backing the government.With rebel MLAs now openly backing the TVK government and questioning EPS’s authority, the AIADMK’s post-poll crisis appears to be turning into a full-scale leadership battle.