The AIADMK group, led by its general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, on Tuesday (May 12, 2026) attacked the rebel group, led by former Ministers C.Ve. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani, in the party for accusing Mr. Palaniswami of having attempted to form a government with the support of the DMK.

In a post on its social media handle (@AIADMKOfficial), the group contended that an “assembly” of those who could not register electoral success in their home districts was “dishing out a bundle of lies.”

Earlier in the day, Mr. Shanmugam said the party’s legislators had elected Mr. Velumani as their leader and chosen to support the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government.

The Palaniswami camp wondered whether this was the “grand plan” the other had been working out all these days — picking up some rumours from the media about an alliance with the DMK. “Do you accept that the same media had even reported that the three of you had approached the TVK for ministership?”

The group also asked, when the Velumani-Shanmugam camp had admitted that it was going to support the ruling party, “why is it that you had a private discussion with [former Minister] V. Senthilbalaji of the DMK for half an hour yesterday [May 11]?

Questioning the locus standi of the rebels in taking a decision on behalf of the AIADMK, the Palaniswami group referred to about 1.34 crore votes secured by the AIADMK-led alliance under the leadership of the former Chief Minister in the Assembly election and accused the rebels of abandoning volunteers of the party and trusted allies such as the BJP, the PMK and the AMMK for the sake of capturing power.

Praising Mr. Palaniswami for protecting and sustaining the AIADMK, the group said the cadres “exist because of and for” him. It also stated that “this movement does not belong to a few MLAs. It is a movement of volunteers. Whenever the movement faced a crisis, the decision of the cadres had only eventually prevailed,” the group observed, adding that “now, the cadres have made their decision!”