Bypolls may be delayed due to pending court cases: EPS

CHENNAI: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday said the by-elections to the six Assembly constituencies vacated by AIADMK MLAs are likely to be delayed because of pending court cases related to the resignations and other election-related issues.

Palaniswami made the remarks while addressing party functionaries from Tirunelveli during a consultative meeting held at the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai. The meeting, attended by office-bearers from Tiruchy and Tirunelveli districts, was convened to review organisational affairs and strengthen the party ahead of the local body elections.

He urged party workers to maintain close contact with the public, identify and resolve local grievances before ruling party MLAs intervene, and take the AIADMK government's achievements and welfare schemes directly to the people.

Stressing that sustained public outreach would be crucial for the upcoming local body polls, Palaniswami said victory and defeat were part of politics. He recalled that the AIADMK, under its founder MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, had witnessed both electoral successes and setbacks. He also pointed out that the DMK had remained out of power for a decade before returning to office.

Without naming anyone, Palaniswami alleged that some leaders had quit the AIADMK for personal gains and positions without understanding the realities of politics.

Calling for organisational strengthening, he instructed office-bearers to recruit more young people and students into the party's Youth Wing and Students Wing. He said only eligible members should be enrolled, inactive members should be replaced, and organisational responsibilities should be entrusted to a committed cadre.

Meanwhile, signs of internal dissent resurfaced within the AIADMK as two senior leaders from Tiruchy district—former MP P. Kumar and former minister M Paranjothi — skipped the consultative meeting.

Both leaders were recently removed as district secretaries after publicly expressing dissent against Palaniswami's leadership and reportedly aligning with the camp led by senior leaders SP Velumani and CVe Shanmugam. Following the organisational reshuffle, the party leadership also removed them from their organisational posts.

The absence of the two leaders from Wednesday's meeting has once again highlighted the continuing factional differences within the AIADMK.