Truce within AIADMK; EPS reinstates rebel leaders, hands them key party posts

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday brought back rebel senior leaders and former ministers SP Velumani, Natham R Viswanathan and P Thangamani into key organisational roles in the party. The move comes after the recent Assembly elections and an intense internal feud within the AIADMK.

The appointments follow a patch-up between two factions in the party, with the leadership also deciding to withdraw disqualification and disciplinary action against the rebel camp. Palaniswami said Velumani and Viswanathan have been appointed deputy general secretaries, while Thangamani has been made organising secretary.

These leaders had earlier been removed from their organisational positions after breaking ranks with the party high command. Of the 25 AIADMK legislators who had initially backed TVK during the confidence motion last month, four MLAs later resigned from their posts and formally shifted their support to the ruling party.

Velumani and the remaining members of his faction later met Palaniswami and submitted an official letter of support, reaffirming their loyalty to the AIADMK. Following this, Palaniswami accepted them back into the party fold and assigned them senior responsibilities.

After the reconciliation between the two factions, the AIADMK leadership also informed the Assembly Speaker that it wanted to drop all disqualification or disciplinary proceedings against the rebel faction. However, the party leadership has not announced any decision on the political future of fellow rebel leader and former minister C Ve Shanmugam.

With these appointments, the AIADMK has reinstated Velumani, Viswanathan and Thangamani to important party posts after their return to the fold, while the issue relating to C Ve Shanmugam remains unresolved.

- Ends