Amit Shah Holds Closed-Door Meeting With Palaniswami Amid Calls For AIADMK 'Reunification'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami at his residence in New Delhi, amid speculation over an internal crisis in the party about bringing back expelled leaders.

Palaniswami has reportedly been compelled to come all the way to New Delhi due to the internal tussle as the BJP, the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), looks at uniting the AIADMK against the ruling DMK ahead of the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

According to sources, Palaniswami stood firm and reiterated to the BJP leadership that ousted leaders will not be brought back to the party. Some other leaders accompanying him then left and Shah later held a closed-door meeting with him, the sources said.

The sources said Palaniswami does not want to budge from his stand despite appeals by some in the AIADMK, who are apparently disgruntled, to bring back ousted leaders like O Panneerselvam.

A senior AIADMK leader said the rank and file in the party stood solidly behind Palaniswami whom they elected as their general secretary.

“Those batting for the merger of factions may make ripples, but they appear to have no intention of accepting Palaniswami as the chief ministerial candidate for the 2026 assembly election,” the senior leader was quoted by PTI.

The PTI report quoted a source in the AIADMK as saying Palaniswami is likely to apprise Shah that he had already consolidated his position in the party and that “some voices” that speak for unity will only derail the party’s prospects at the hustings, if they were readmitted.

‘NOBODY CAN HARM AIADMK’

Palaniswami, however, ahead of his departure from Chennai broke his silence on the merger and said those who “betrayed” the party – leaders like Panneerselvam TTV Dhinakaran  – have no place in it.

While addressing a meeting organised by the AIADMK on former chief minister CN Annadurai’s birth anniversary on Monday (September 15), he even dismissed speculation that his Delhi visit was to discuss the AIADMK’s internal issue.

Veteran leaders like KA Sengottaiyan and K Sasikala have called for reunification before the 2026 elections. Palaniswami stressed that “nobody can harm the AIADMK.”

“Let me say, write it down. More than power, self respect is more important for us. I will not make the slightest of compromises in that regard,” he was quoted.

Panneerselvam had rebelled against then AIADMK chief Sasikala after J Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016 and had voted against the Palaniswami-led government in the 2017 trust vote. His supporters had also allegedly vandalised the party headquarters in July 2022 ahead of a party general council that expelled him and his supporters. When it comes to Dhinakaran, 18 dissident AIADMK MLAs had sided with him Palaniswami was CM.

‘MATTER OF IMMENSE PRIDE FOR TAMIL NADU’

During his visit to the national capital, Palaniswami also called on the newly elected Vice President CP Radhakrishnan and congratulated him on his victory. Their meeting lasted for nearly one-and-a-half hours, a party senior said.

மாண்புமிகு இந்தியக் குடியரசுத் துணைத் தலைவர் திரு. @CPR_VP அவர்களை @AIADMKOfficial தலைமைக் கழக நிர்வாகிகள் மற்றும் கழக நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களுடன் நேரில் சந்தித்து, எனது நல்வாழ்த்துகளைத் தெரிவித்தேன்.

தமிழ்நாட்டைச் சேர்ந்த மரியாதைக்குரிய திரு. சி.பி. ராதாகிருஷ்ணன் அவர்கள்,… pic.twitter.com/hOoQ8px7i0

— Edappadi K Palaniswami-SayYEStoWomenSafety&AIADMK (@EPSTamilNadu) September 16, 2025

The former CM said Radhakrishnan’s elevation as Vice President was a matter of immense pride for Tamil Nadu. “I congratulated him for his win and wished him success in his service to the people as Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,” he wrote in a post on ‘X.’

(With inputs from Poornima Murali)