Former Handlooms Minister and the AIADMK’s legislator from Vedaranyam, O.S. Manian, who is with the camp led by the general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, on Wednesday denied the claim of Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna that the AIADMK and the DMK had tried to forge an alliance in the run-up to the formation of government in the State. 

He told journalists in Chennai that the AIADMK general secretary had,  both inside and outside the legislature in the last five years, “highlighted vigorously the lapses” of the previous DMK regime on different issues such as law and order, the prevalence of drug menace and safety to women.  This was why the party and its allies had won in 53 assembly constituencies. “The main reason for the performance was Mr Palaniswami’s strident criticism of the DMK,” Mr Manian pointed out. 

As for Mr Arjuna, the former Minister recalled that he had been a member in different parties. He had once approached Mr Palaniswami with a request to become the deputy general secretary in the AIADMK but this was not accepted. 

On the meeting taken by the general secretary on Tuesday with district secretaries and headquarters’ office bearers, another face of the Palaniswami camp and former Agriculture Minister, S. S. “Agri” Krishnamurthy, asserted that out of 78 district secretaries, 75 took part. Likewise, out of 81 HQ office bearers, 60 attended with 10 having sent their letters, intimating their inability to be present. Three others were not keeping well. 

Countering the argument of the rebel leader C.Ve. Shanmugam about electoral reverses that the party had been suffering since the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mr Krishnamurthy said Mr Palaniswami had given, all along, tickets to candidates in polls on the basis of recommendation of district secretaries such as Mr Shanmugam and another rebel leader, S.P. Velumani, both of whom were district secretaries till recently for Villupuram and Coimbatore (suburban-south) respectively. 

Mr Krishnamurthy said that Mr Palaniswami, despite knowing that the party might not be able to retain its fifth seat in the Rajya Sabha, had allowed Mr Shanmugam, who had two more years to go for the completion of his term in the Upper House, to contest in the Assembly election this time.  He also announced that “Porvaall,” a new party organ, had been launched.