CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday expressed confidence that the party would return to power in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections with the strong support of its cadres and the people of the state.
Palaniswami paid floral tributes to the AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran on his 38th death anniversary at the MGR Memorial on Marina Beach on Wednesday. He was accompanied by senior party leaders and a large number of party cadres. On the occasion, the party took a pledge targeting the ruling DMK government.
He called him the ‘golden chapter of Tamil Nadu's political history’, who “took the poor's suffering as his own”.
Hailing MGR, as he was popularly known, the AIADMK chief described him as an "unparalleled former chief minister who sculpted the history" of TN's social justice, education and healthcare.
Taking a pledge, he said, “We will work tirelessly to send back home the incompetent DMK regime. With the support of the people of Tamil Nadu, our goal is victory in the 2026 Assembly elections and to write the final chapter of the anti-people DMK rule.”
The AIADMK accused the DMK government of failing to fulfil its electoral promises after coming to power. The party claimed that several welfare schemes introduced by the AIADMK were discontinued and that the DMK had failed to deliver on assurances such as exemption from NEET and waiver of education loans.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters at the Marina memorial, former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar said that any decision regarding the inclusion of O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran into the party would be taken by the general secretary at an appropriate time.
Responding to Panneerselvam's statement that there was no possibility of joining the AIADMK as long as Edappadi K. Palaniswami continued as general secretary, Jayakumar said that while Panneerselvam had made his personal stand clear, the party's official position would be announced by the general secretary.