Even as the internal feud in the AIADMK resurfaced with renewed calls for the return of expelled leaders, party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) held a one-on-one meeting with BJP strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, despite publicly denying any plan to meet him.
EPS had a separate meeting with Shah after he, along with his party delegation, first interacted with the Home Minister at his residence.
Their discussion reportedly revolved around the ongoing crisis in the AIADMK and the strains within the NDA following the exit of rebel leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) and TTV Dhinakaran of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). For the latter, the key precondition for rejoining the NDA is the removal of EPS as the alliance’s chief ministerial candidate.
The BJP now faces the task of dousing the flames in the AIADMK, following party veteran K.A. Sengottaiyan’s demand for the re-entry of expelled leaders OPS, Dhinakaran, and others—moves seen as being backed by the saffron party. The urgency has only grown, as the NDA in Tamil Nadu remains in disarray with Assembly elections just months away.
Before leaving for New Delhi, EPS dismissed speculation that his visit was to meet Shah, insisting instead that he was going to congratulate Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan on his election to the constitutional office. While it is true that he and his delegation met the Vice President and dined with him, EPS’s subsequent U-turn was familiar.
Back in April too, he had denied planning a meeting with Shah—claiming his trip was to inspect the under-construction AIADMK office in Delhi—but ended up calling on the Home Minister with his close aides to finalize AIADMK’s return to the NDA fold.