AIADMK internal rift deepens as senior leader SP Velumani rejects deputy post

Senior AIADMK leader SP Velumani refused the deputy general secretary appointment, saying he could not accept a post while about 30 district secretaries and senior cadres who supported him were denied roles. His comments were captured at a closed‑door meeting in Coimbatore and later released in a video; he also removed photographs of party chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami from his social media but insisted he remains with the AIADMK.

Around the same time, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami addressed the party’s women’s wing in Chennai, stating that cadres are "happy and energised" by the exit of “betrayers” after Velumani and Natham R. Viswanathan missed a key consultative meeting. Palaniswami urged the wing to expand membership, criticised MLAs who defected to the ruling TVK, and questioned the legitimacy of the state chief minister. The two episodes highlight escalating factional tensions within the AIADMK ahead of upcoming political programmes and elections in Tamil Nadu.