CHENNAI: Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who has been leading the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga Thondarkal Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu (ADMKTUMK) for the past three years, turned his forum into a political party on Monday by branding it as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga Thondarkal Urimai Meetpu Kazhagam.
A resolution to this effect was taken at a meeting of the ADMKTUMK’s office-bearers and district secretaries in Chennai. The meeting also adopted another resolution empowering Panneerselvam to decide about the alliance for the 2026 Assembly election.
Panneerselvam said the decision to be taken at the meeting of the newly-branded outfit scheduled for December 15 would be “historic”. Indirectly hitting out at AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for making the party taste 11 consecutive electoral defeats, Panneerselvam said he wanted to warn Palaniswami to not force them to take any drastic measures.
Earlier, one of his supporters, Ramachandran, said if Palaniswami remained a stumbling block for the unification of the AIADMK, the new organisation led by Panneerselvam should contest in all 234 constituencies in the 2026 Assembly election.
Referring to this remark, Panneerselvam said Ramachandran always says what is acceptable to the cadre. Notably, Palaniswami has convened AIADMK’s general council and executive committee meetings on December 10 amid continuing speculations that the AIADMK’s ally BJP has been advocating a united AIADMK to face the DMK in the 2026 Assembly election. On the possibilty of OPS joining the NDA, state BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran in Theni said, “In politics. anything is possible.”