MADURAI: AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Saturday said that the AIADMK would face a massive defeat in the 2026 Assembly polls, particularly in the southern districts.

Addressing reporters at Sholavandan in Madurai district, Dhinakaran criticised AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, calling him an “embodiment of betrayal.” His remarks followed Palaniswami’s comments against senior leader KA Sengottaiyan, who was recently expelled from the party.

“Palaniswami has no moral right to accuse Sengottaiyan, who has served the AIADMK since its inception and held several important positions,” Dhinakaran said. “If there were a Nobel Prize for betrayal, it should go to Palaniswami, who backstabbed the very person who made him Chief Minister,” he added, referring to VK Sasikala proposing him as the Chief Minister.

Clarifying his recent meeting with Sengottaiyan, expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam in Pasumpon, Dhinakaran said it was an effort “to stand against betrayal.”

Rejecting Palaniswami’s allegation that the three leaders were acting as the “B team” of the DMK, Dhinakaran countered that Edappadi himself was the sole reason for the DMK’s 2021 victory. “He becomes anxious whenever the Kodanad murder case is mentioned,” Dhinakaran said, referring to the murder-cum-heist at the late former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's estate.

When asked about a possible alliance with actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), he said that AMMK would reveal its political strategies in the coming months. “Weapons will be used only on the battlefield. Wait for three more months,” he added.