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A day after senior AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan made an appearance with former party leaders like VK Sasikala, O Pannerselvam, and TTV Dhinakaran, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Friday, October 31 expelled Sengottaiyan from the party by removing him from the party’s primary membership.
In a statement, EPS said Sengottaiyan acted against the interests of the party and brought disrepute to the party by hobnobbing with those who were removed from the AIADMK for anti-party activities.
“Despite being aware that party members must not maintain any contact with those expelled from the party, Sengottaiyan MLA is hereby removed from all responsibilities, including his position as a primary member of the party, for having associated with expelled members and continuing to act in ways that tarnish the reputation of the party,” read the statement.
The move follows months of escalating tensions within the party between EPS and Sengottaiyan. Sources in the AIADMK told TNM that EPS was hesitating to take action against a senior leader of Sengottaiyan’s stature, but the developments that took place on October 30 at the guru pooja for Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar in Ramanathapuram district triggered this reaction.
Sengottaiyan began his political career in the 1970s as a panchayat president from Kullampalayam in Coimbatore district and was later elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly from Sathayamangal constituency in 1977, when MG Ramachandran (MGR) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time.
A nine-time legislator, he held various portfolios like Transport, Agriculture, Revenue, and Information Technology as Minister in Jayalilathaa’s cabinet.
Sengottaiyan, a long-time loyalist of Jayalalithaa, said he had been pressing for unity to dislodge the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections. However, he developed differences with EPS and since then has been pressing for a united AIADMK, which includes re-induction of expelled leaders like Sasikala, OPS, and Dhinakaran – a demand that EPS rejected outright.
Reacting to his expulsion, Sengottaiyan said that he would hold an elaborate press conference on November 1 at the AIADMK party office in Erode. It may be noted that he was sacked on September 6 from all key party responsibilities, including his posts as Organisation Secretary and Erode (Rural West) District Secretary.