"To defeat DMK, every AIADMK worker must come together in unity": Sasikala backs Sengottaiyan's unity pitch

V.K. Sasikala, a close aide of Tamil Nadu's late former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, on Friday said that AIADMK leader K A Sengottaiyan's call for unity in the party is "now the voice of every single party worker." Earlier in the day, Sengottaiyan called for the induction of the expelled leaders, including V K Sasikala, O Panneerselvam, and T T V Dhinakaran, into the party, arguing that it is necessary for the party to win election.

"Our senior leader and party legislator, beloved brother Sengottaiyan, has proven that the AIADMK is an indestructible force that no power can erase. He has stood firmly with the party through many testing times. He has shown that what runs through his veins is nothing but the blood of the AIADMK. His call for unity is now the voice of every single party worker and indeed, the voice of the people of Tamil Nadu. I too strongly emphasize this," Sasikala, former interim general secretary of the AIADMK, said in a statement. She said that to defeat the "conspiracies of the DMK", every AIADMK party worker must come together in unity.

"As long as there are true loyalists like our beloved brother Sengottaiyan, no matter what evil forces like the DMK attempt, their sinister designs will never succeed. To defeat the conspiracies of the DMK, every party worker must come together in unity. This movement, built by our two great leaders, is like a mighty flood no dam can ever hold it back," she said. "In the upcoming 2026 Legislative Assembly Elections, it is certain that the anti-people DMK-led government will be sent home. I declare with confidence that a united and powerful AIADMK alone will bring about the change of government in Tamil Nadu," she said.

Earlier in the press conference, Sengottaiyan said that soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha election results were announced, senior leaders of the party met AIADMK's general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and asked for bringing back the leaders who left the party. But EPS did not heed the suggestion, he said. "I am working to ensure a united AIADMK. Since 2016, the election results have not been in our favour. If we had an alliance with the BJP, we would have won 30 seats in the Parliament election," Sengottaiyan said in a press conference here.

Sengottaiyan, an influential leader from western Tamil Nadu from where Palaniswami also hails, has been sulking for the past several months upset over the functioning of the AIADMK. There were reports that he has differences with EPS over the way he is leading the party. EPS has been running the party ever since he was named as the general secretary by the General Council in July 2022 following the expulsion of O Panneerselvam. And, the party hasn't registered a victory in any election held since 2016.

AIADMK has recently re-established its tie with the BJP, and has decided to contest the 2025 Assembly election together with other partners in the NDA alliance. (ANI)

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