C Ve Shanmugam Demands EPS Accountability for AIADMK’s Poll Defeats

Senior AIADMK MLA C Ve Shanmugam on Monday launched a scathing attack on party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), demanding accountability for the party’s successive electoral defeats and alleging a secret post-poll understanding with the ruling DMK.

Addressing reporters, Shanmugam questioned the AIADMK leadership’s failure to undertake a detailed review of its electoral setbacks since 2019. He also criticised party whip ‘Agri’ S S Krishnamurthy for blaming district secretaries for the party’s poor performance.

“Whenever a party is defeated in an election, the leader takes moral responsibility,” Shanmugam said. However, he clarified that he was not seeking Palaniswami’s resignation, but wanted the leadership to introspect and identify the reasons behind the party’s decline.

Shanmugam said Palaniswami should accept responsibility instead of shifting the blame onto grassroots workers and candidates. He also questioned Krishnamurthy’s claim that the AIADMK’s victory in 47 constituencies in the recent Assembly election was primarily due to Palaniswami’s popularity.

“If Palaniswami was responsible for the victories, did he have no influence in the 181 constituencies where the party lost?” Shanmugam asked, pointing to the AIADMK’s poor performance even in Palaniswami’s home district of Salem.

He further claimed that 34 of the AIADMK’s 47 victories in northern districts were largely aided by its alliance with the PMK. According to him, the party was virtually wiped out in southern and delta districts and the Chennai region, winning only two of 37 seats. Shanmugam also alleged that a backroom deal was discussed between Palaniswami and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on the night election results were announced. He claimed the proposal involved DMK support for Palaniswami to become chief minister, which he said he opposed during a meeting at Palaniswami’s residence.

He added that an alternative proposal involving VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan as chief minister, with AIADMK receiving other Cabinet portfolios, was also rejected. Both the AIADMK and DMK have previously denied allegations of such a post-poll arrangement.