SALEM: With just seven days left for the 2026 Assembly elections and parties going all out in campaign mode, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) cadres in Edappadi remain in a state of uncertainty, with no clear direction from the leadership even a week after the party was left without a candidate following the rejection of its nomination.
Cadres on the ground say the biggest issue is the complete lack of communication from the leadership, particularly on whether they should support any independent candidate. "Not being able to vote for my own party, for which I worked so hard in this constituency, is more than painful. We don't know whom to support or what to do. Everyone is saying different things -- there is no clarity at all from the leadership," said a cadre, requesting anonymity.
The confusion stems from the events of April 7, when TVK's official candidate M Arunkumar went missing during the scrutiny of nominations at the Edappadi taluk office, triggering tense scenes among party workers gathered there. Both his nomination and his substitute candidate -- his wife A. Nithya -- were rejected for failing to meet the requirement of 10 proposers, leaving the party without a candidate in the constituency.
Amid speculation that the rejection may have been deliberately caused through incomplete filings, the party had filed a missing complaint. However, sources said Arunkumar later informed the police that he had stepped away due to personal reasons. Since then, party members say they have been unable to reach him.
Arunkumar, sources added, is a former AIADMK functionary and a known supporter of KA Sengottaiyan, who had recently joined TVK and was fielded despite not being a native of Edappadi.
Reacting to the development, TVK's General Secretary for Election Campaign Management Aadhav Arjuna on Sunday alleged foul play, calling the candidate a "black sheep who took money from Edappadi K Palaniswami and disappeared", terming it "bad politics" by Palaniswami.
"Though there is no candidate in the fray, we will still intensify campaigning in Edappadi along with western zone in-charge KA Sengottaiyan. A decision on whether to support an independent candidate will be taken soon," he added.
However, multiple cadres said that even after a week, these assurances have not been turned into any clear instructions on the ground. TVK's Edappadi town secretary, 'Kutty' Murugan, said the situation had left cadres deeply unhappy and demoralised after weeks of groundwork. "We built everything from the ground up -- booth committees were formed, voter lists were prepared meticulously, and we had already begun door-to-door outreach well before the campaign picked up pace. All that hard work vanished in seconds," he said. He added that after Arunkumar was announced as the candidate on March 29, he visited the constituency and campaigned for a few days before going missing.
Salem West district secretary and Mettur candidate K Selvam said, "On Monday, cadres in Edappadi were asked to work in neighbouring constituencies following the setback. However, no information has been communicated on whether to support any independent candidate in the constituency."
However, a district-level functionary contradicted this, stating that no such communication had reached them so far. "Even now, we have not received any proper instruction -- not on campaign work, not on whom to support. With elections just days away, we are left completely in the dark," the functionary said.
With polling fast approaching, the gap between what the leadership claims and what cadres experience on the ground continues to widen, leaving TVK workers in Edappadi in a state of confusion and inaction.