Will AIADMK general council meeting provide clarity on Panneerselvam’s re-entry?

While AIADMK’s rebel leader and former coordinator O. Panneerselvam has categorically denied that he is planning to launch a party on Friday, December 5, 2025, political circles are abuzz with speculations about his return to the Dravidian major.

While AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has repeatedly opposed the readmission of his former colleague, it was the recent meeting in New Delhi between Mr. Panneerselvam and Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah that triggered the latest round of political chatter.

On record, the former coordinator of the AIADMK, who currently heads the ADMK Committee for Recovery of Workers’ Rights, said that he discussed the overall political situation in the state with Mr. Shah and conveyed that all pro-AIADMK forces, which are currently dispersed, should come together.

Another reason that paves the way for talks about Mr. Panneerselvam is the possibility of KC Palanisamy, another former member of the party and former MLA and MP, returning to the organisation. He harshly criticized the party. Recently, he also directed his criticism towards Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

There is a view within the party that the return of the former MP may, to some extent, erase the perception that the AIADMK has lost most of its second-tier and senior leaders to the DMK or TVK, as can be seen from the decisions of two-time legislator R. Chinnasamy and former MPs V. Maitreyan and A. Anwhar Raajhaa (all of whom transcend the DMK and the old School). Minister of Education KA Sengottaiyan, who chose to join TVK.

As for Mr. Panneerselvam, a section of leaders in the AIADMK are either echoing Mr. Palaniswami’s position or expressing ignorance about their general secretary considering changing his stance. While they are not unaware of the “anything is possible” rhetoric in state politics, many say the doors appear to be closed to their former coordinators.

On Mr. Panneerselvam’s current reluctance to launch a party, a veteran legislator said the former coordinator may have had second thoughts about the idea as the AIADMK may not give its full cooperation to a new party if its outfit falls short of the BJP’s seat quota, which was held in the 2001 Assembly polls when the TMC(M) allotted 14 seats to the Congress.

The question before the AIADMK is how to get Mr. Panneerselvam back if Mr. Palaniswami becomes open to the idea. As differences between Mr Palaniswami and Mr Panneerselvam’s camps come to the fore in 2022, the possibility of the coordinator post being handed back to the rebel leader looks remote. Besides, Mr. Palaniswami does not want to have any power sharing with his former colleague.

It is not yet known whether the party’s general assembly, planned to meet on December 10, will clarify the issue.