Tamil Nadu: No place for Panneerselvam in AIADMK, says Palaniswami

Tamil Nadu : Mr. Panneerselvam was removed for betraying the party, the AIADMK general secretary says; in his sharpest attack on TVK leader Vijay, Mr. Palaniswami asks, "After the Karur stampede, Mr. Vijay could not even visit the families of the deceased.

- ► AJIKUMAR CHENNAI

Then, what is the meaning of running a political party?AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday (January 29, 2026) rejected an offer from expelled party coordinator O. Panneerselvam to rejoin the parent organisation.

"There is no place for Mr. Panneerselvam in the party," Mr. Palaniswami said while addressing the media in Salem. "I have clarified on several occasions that Mr. Panneerselvam was removed from the party based on a unanimous resolution passed against him at the AIADMK general council meeting for betraying the party."

When asked whether Mr. Panneerselvam could be accommodated in the AIADMK-led NDA as a constituent, he said, "We cannot speak about everything openly."

Earlier in the day, Mr. Panneerselvam, coordinator of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Workers' Rights Retrieval Kazhagam, expressed his willingness to rejoin the AIADMK. He, however, said the ball was in the court of Mr. Palaniswami.