The party’s long-time face in Erode district, Mr. Sengottaiyan was the Transport, Agriculture, and School Education Minister in the Cabinets of Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K. Palaniswami. He chose not to attend the recent function organised by a body of farmers to felicitate Mr. Palaniswami at Annur in Coimbatore district because the images of former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa were not featured in the invitation and banners put up for the event.
He had also conveyed his displeasure over the defeat of the party nominee in the 2021 Assembly election in Anthiyur, a constituency reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and considered a traditional stronghold of the AIADMK.
Though initially the party’s spokespersons did not respond favourably to his observations, senior leaders, privately and publicly, are sounding conciliatory. A veteran functionary in Salem says it is known that Mr. Sengottaiyan has been nursing grievances for quite some time, but he will not abandon the party as he is steadfast in his loyalty to the organisation. In a chat with reporters in Krishnagiri, party deputy general secretary K.P. Munusamy hoped that his colleague, who had experienced ups and downs in his career, would stand by the party.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and former Minister, R.B. Udhayakumar, dismisses the row as an issue that has been blown out of proportion. He says, “The matter has been settled.”
Notwithstanding their favourable impression of the party’s Erode strongman, many functionaries feel he need not have made his concerns public. Besides, it was not for the first time that the party had lost in Anthiyur. In 1996 and 2006 too, it was defeated by its arch-rival, the DMK.
However, there is a view that when the party had reacted very strongly months ago to BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai’s observations on Jayalalithaa, it could not adopt a “hands-off” approach when its own leader flagged the issue of lack of prominence to the former Chief Minister.
What all the functionaries agree is that the party cannot allow such a debate to recur when all its resources and energy should be devoted to preparing the organisation for the 2026 Assembly election. “We need to put our own house in order” is the common refrain of the office-bearers.
Published – February 15, 2025 12:56 am IST
