Senior AIADMK leader urges EPS to reunite party, gives him 10-day ultimatum

Senior AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan on Friday appealed to party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) to accept back those who had left the party, stressing that unity alone could ensure electoral success in 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.

The senior leader has given EPS ten days to decide on the question of unification. “If we accept back those who left the party, we can win the elections. If it does not happen in the time frame I have given, all those who left the party will have to think about uniting,” he warned.

Addressing the media, Sengottaiyan made it clear that there were no preconditions for reinstatement and that those who had left only wanted a unified AIADMK for the welfare of the people.

“We must welcome back those who left us. That is the request they are keeping. They are not keeping any conditions. They only want to be unified. They are willing to make sacrifices for people’s welfare,” he said, adding that forgiveness should be the party’s motto.

Reiterating that his appeal was a humble request to EPS, Sengottaiyan said, “Will forgive, will forgive. This should be the party motto.” He emphasised that the call for reconciliation came without conditions, positions, or demands, and was aimed only at strengthening the AIADMK ahead of elections.

Sengottaiyan also underlined that there was no demand for positions from those who had moved away from the party after former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s demise, when VK Sasikala was nominated as the next chief minister. He clarified that he was not proposing Sasikala as the party’s chief ministerial face but was only asking EPS to accept back all those who had left.

Sengottaiyan had announced on September 2 that he would convene a meeting with his close supporters today, where he intends to speak his mind openly and lay out his stance.

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