Dissidents mull October 17 foundation day boycott, parallel events to challenge Edappadi K Palaniswami

CHENNAI: Dissident leaders of the AIADMK are likely to boycott the party's 55th founding day celebrations on October 17, amid renewed efforts by rival factions to challenge party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, sources said.

The party has announced that Palaniswami will garland the statues of party founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) and former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the party headquarters in Royapettah and hoist the party flag.

The AIADMK has also directed party units to celebrate the occasion by hoisting flags across all districts in the State and announced the names of leaders who will lead the celebrations in their respective districts.

Although the list includes dissident leaders SP Velumani, Natham R Viswanathan, KP Anbalagan and Thangamani, it omits CVe Shanmugam, who is also part of the dissident camp.

Sources said the rebel leaders were considering boycotting the celebrations announced by EPS and holding separate founding day events in their respective districts.

The latest development comes amid renewed factional activity following the AIADMK's defeat in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections, in which the party was pushed to third place.

Leaders associated with the SP Velumani and CVe Shanmugam camps have stepped up their efforts against EPS and have been holding a series of meetings, sources said.

After the general election, the SP Velumani camp had revolted against EPS.

However, the two sides reached a compromise, following which the dissident leaders remained largely silent.

The bypoll results have now reignited tensions within the party, with the dissidents exploring ways to challenge the leadership.