TINDIVANAM: Continuing his attacks on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, disgruntled senior leader CVe Shanmugam claimed on Sunday that the party’s electoral survival in its northern strongholds was entirely dependent on its allies, particularly the PMK.
Shanmugam, who has been on an open warpath against Palaniswami ever since the election results were announced alleged that the current leadership has plunged the AIADMK into an "autocratic slide" driven by personal egos, family influence, and financial interests.
"They shamelessly claim victory in 47 constituencies. How is that a victory? Out of those 47 seats, 31 constituencies are alms given by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK)," Shanmugam told reporters here.
Not mincing words, the Villupuram strongman, who was the leading face in the rebellion against Palaniswami, asserted that if not for the tie-up with the Anbumani Ramadoss-led PMK, the AIADMK would have drawn a blank across the crucial northern belt. Even Palaniswami himself would have struggled to retain his home turf, Edappadi, he alleged.
"If not for the alliance with the PMK, the AIADMK would have stumbled into a victory or lost heavily in northern districts like Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Dharmapuri, and even in Salem," he said.
Under Palaniswami's leadership, the party founded by MG Ramachandran on the bedrock of anti-DMK sentiment, was losing its ideological identity, he said.
He claimed that a small clique of sycophants had insulated the general secretary from the harsh realities on the ground where cadres and second-line leaders are abandoning the party one after another.
Invoking party history, Shanmugam asked whether party founder MGR could ever be called a traitor just because the DMK leadership branded him as one when expelling him decades ago.
"When MGR was expelled from the DMK, they called him a traitor. So, did MGR become a traitor? He was the sole reason for the DMK's victories, the reason why CN Annadurai and M Karunanidhi became chief ministers," Shanmugam said, slamming Palaniswami for raising "traitor" charge at dedicated workers leaving the party out of sheer frustration.
"After the demise of Jayalalithaa, the party has faced consecutive defeats, and its vote share is diminishing with every election. Everyone from the top headquarters to the grassroots cadre understands why we lost, except for one person - the general secretary," Shanmugam added.
Drawing a sharp contrast with former chief minister Jayalalithaa, Shanmugam recalled how she gracefully accepted accountability for the party's severe rout in the 1996 assembly polls and personally reached out to allies like the PMK, MDMK, and TMC to stitch together a winning coalition for the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
"Amma had the stature to say, 'I take responsibility for this defeat'. But today, the current leadership refuses to even acknowledge failure and lives in a dream world," he added
Warning of further political consequences if immediate course correction is not initiated, Shanmugam demanded that Palaniswami immediately convene the party's Executive Committee or General Council to deliberate on the electoral setbacks.
"We have accommodated and accepted every decision made by the leadership over the last eight years, even when we disagreed. But we cannot remain silent when the party is being pushed toward annihilation. We will wait for some time for a meeting to be called. If not, we know our path forward. Do not push us to that edge," Shanmugam warned.
(With inputs from PTI)