'Family interfering in party affairs': Sengottaiyan slams EPS for 'Dynasty Politics' in AIADMK

Chennai, Nov 3 (IANS) In a sharp attack on AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), expelled veteran K.A. Sengottaiyan on Monday accused him of encouraging "dynasty politics" within the party — a charge often levelled by it against its principal rival, the DMK.

Speaking to reporters at the Coimbatore International Airport, the nine-time MLA from Gobichettipalayam alleged that Palaniswami’s close relatives were exerting influence over party affairs.

"The issues coming up one by one clearly indicate hereditary politics in AIADMK. It is not confined to the DMK alone. It is a known fact that there is interference by Palaniswami’s son, brother-in-law, and son-in-law in his political activities," Sengottaiyan said.

He asserted that such tendencies were against the very principles on which the AIADMK was founded by late leaders M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa.

"Despite differences of opinion, I have always worked for the party’s growth since the days of MGR and Amma. My only aim was to strengthen the AIADMK, not divide it. Palaniswami should not betray others — or himself — by claiming to do what he could not accomplish," he remarked.

Sengottaiyan, a veteran legislator and one of the AIADMK’s senior-most faces until his expulsion, was recently removed from the party after he held meetings with ousted leaders O. Panneerselvam, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, and V.K. Sasikala.

His outreach to these former leaders — all sidelined by Palaniswami following the 2017 power struggle — has been interpreted as an attempt to explore a possible reconciliation among various AIADMK factions.

The expulsion marks the latest in a series of internal rifts within the party since EPS consolidated power as the sole General Secretary.

Several senior leaders have expressed dissatisfaction over what they describe as the "one-man control" of the organisation and the growing influence of Palaniswami’s family circle.

Political observers say Sengottaiyan’s open attack reflects widening fissures ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, where the AIADMK hopes to regroup against a resurgent DMK. His remarks, they add, could further complicate efforts to project unity within the opposition camp.

--IANS

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