AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday night, at a time of increasing tensions within his party.
The meeting came after senior AIADMK leader K.A. Sengottaiyan called for the return of O. Panneerselvam (OPS), T.T.V. Dhinakaran, and V.K. Sasikala to the party. EPS strongly opposed this suggestion and removed Sengottaiyan from his positions. In response, Sengottaiyan travelled to Delhi and met Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, claiming they had invited him to discuss AIADMK unity. This move caught EPS by surprise and created ripples within the party.
EPS, along with senior leaders KP Munusamy and SP Velumani, flew to Delhi on Monday morning. After greeting newly elected Vice President CPR Radhakrishnan, he and his delegation met Amit Shah. Following initial discussions with his team, EPS stayed back for a private, closed-door meeting with the Union Home Minister.
The episode has drawn attention to AIADMKās troubled history since the death of its former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in 2016. Sasikala, Jayalalithaaās close aide, was expelled from the party after being jailed in a corruption case. OPS, once a loyalist, fell out with EPS during a power struggle and was later removed from the party along with his supporters. T.T.V. Dhinakaran, Sasikalaās nephew, also faced expulsion and went on to float his own party, AMMK.
With OPS, Dhinakaran, and Sasikala now outside the AIADMK-BJP alliance, Sengottaiyanās demand for their return has triggered speculation about whether the BJP is pushing for a broader AIADMK unity ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
EPSās one-on-one meeting with Amit Shah is being closely watched, as it could shape the future of the AIADMK-BJP alliance and the balance of power within the opposition space in Tamil Nadu.