CHENNAI: Ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam on Friday hit out at party interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for the party's Erode East bypoll rout.
In a hard-hitting statement, OPS said a "traitor" and his "dictatorial coterie" were the reasons for the defeat, which has caused "a blot" on the reputation of party founder M G Ramachandran and AIADMK icon J Jayalalithaa.
Though there was resentment against the DMK government, people had rejected the AIADMK because of EPS, he said. Stating that the bypoll defeat had plunged every AIADMK cadre into sorrow, OPS reiterated the need for unity in the party to succeed in future.
In the 2021 assembly election, the Congress won in the Erode East constituency by a margin of about 9,000 votes. But in the byelection, the Congress won by a margin of about 67,000 votes.
"In Tamil Nadu's political history, this is the first time that the AIADMK has been defeated by such a huge margin in a bypoll. This only shows that the AIADMK, which is the primary opposition party in the state, is weak," OPS noted and blamed EPS for the present state of the party.
OPS said he accepted the Supreme Court order on fielding a candidate chosen by the general council of the AIADMK, for the victory of 'two leaves' symbol.
OPS said he chose to remain silent for the sake of victory of 'two leaves', the AIADMK symbol, even when EPS sidestepped the court directive and unilaterally forwarded the name of his candidate alone to the Election Commission. Though there was a scope for an appeal in the Supreme Court against sending the name of just one candidate, he had not done so, said OPS. "In spite of that, if the AIADMK suffered a blow, it means that people have rejected the traitor named EPS," he said.
OPS said the ouster of AIADMK loyalists, who had toiled for the party and who had been identified by Amma (J Jayalalithaa), while retaining sycophants, were the reason for the defeat. "It is imperative to consider the drubbing as a lesson, take steps to unify everyone and march towards future success," he said.
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