Fist fights in some, stymied in others, AIADMK review meet exposes faultlines; throws EPS fresh challenges

CHENNAI: The field-level study conducted by the AIADMK's 10-member committee has backfired on the party as functionaries have resorted to verbal spats and exchanging blows in front of senior leaders in many districts.

Party general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami’s ambitious poll preparation exercise was turned into an embarrassment for the party leadership as the chaos sent a wrong signal to its supporters.

Party insiders opined that the recent incidents show the kind of frustration among the rank and file of the party over the leadership for not addressing pressing issues. Party workers are using the field-level study of senior leaders as an opportunity to vent out their ire, they said.

Former minister and senior leader SP Velumani witnessed one such unseemly incident unfold during a meeting in Tirunelveli on Friday.

Supporters of former Tirunelveli (Urban) district secretary Popular V Muthiah criticised the current district secretary, Thatchai N Ganesaraja during the meeting, accusing him of failing in his responsibility to strengthen the party. This led to a verbal altercation between their supporters, and a section of them exchanged blows.

Though SP Velumani and a few senior leaders managed to bring the situation under control, it was a fait accompli.

"Though we have differences of opinion, we should remain united like a family. We should channel this (anger) into efforts to return to power," Velumani said at the review meeting. He pleaded that AIADMK was a ‘disciplined’ party and that they should maintain the same.

The Nellai incident wasn’t an isolated one. A similar altercation occurred during a meeting chaired by party treasurer and former minister Dindigul C Srinivasan with Thanjavur district functionaries at Kumbakonam. In another event, the party workers in Kanniyakumari vented out their anger. Party insiders and political pundits say that such incidents reflect poor management of the party and lack of confidence among functionaries. The issue appears stark in the southern districts where the party had performed poorly in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Fearing such incidents, C Ve Shanmugham and D Jayakumar have been limiting the number of participants in such meetings they headed. On the other hand, party deputy general secretary KP Munusamy and women's wing leader B Valarmathi did not entertain district-level functionaries who wished to share their views.

"They came, spoke, and left. Before starting the meeting, there was a request from him (Munusamy) not to raise any issues in his presence," said a functionary who attended the meeting in the Vellore (Urban) district unit.

A functionary claimed that most of the meetings had a predictable pattern of muting party functionaries. They are the ones, who are in touch with grassroots-level cadre, and should have been given more space, said the AIADMK insider.

On the whole, because of such stymying feedback, the meetings turned into a ‘farce,’ the leader said.

He also pointed out Munusamy's remark that the forthcoming election is a "life-or-death" situation for the party has deepened the fear about the party's political future among longtime members and sympathisers.

"It is not going to do any good for the party," said another functionary attached to the Tiruvannamalai (South) district unit.

A strong critic of Palaniswami and former MP K C Palanisamy remarked that the series of events "shows that the functionaries have lost faith in the leadership and are highly demoralised."

"This is an organic outburst from the party functionaries at the village, branch, ward, and zonal levels. All these years, they were not allowed to express their views. So, they are using this field-level study by the party senior leaders to vent their anger and frustration over the uncertainty surrounding the party's political future," said political critic Priyan Srinivasan.