Chennai, May 14 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Minister K A Sengottaiyan on Thursday said AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami was reaping the consequences of his own actions and claimed that the soul of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was punishing him.
The AIADMK general secretary was facing rejection by his party members, he said responding to the post-poll developments in AIADMK, whose legislature party split with C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani, both former ministers, spearheading an open rebellion against Palaniswami in supporting the Vijay-led TVK government.
About 25 rebel legislators voted in favour of the TVK government during the floor test in the Assembly on May 13, amidst a horse-trading charge made by Palaniswami against the TVK in the House. The rebel MLAs votes jacked up the TVK’s tally to 144 in the house. The AIADMK chief and 21 MLAs supporting him voted against Vijay’s government.
Responding to a question of a split in the AIADMK legislature party, Sengottaiyan told reporters here that it was only because of the consequences of Palaniswami’s past actions.
“He did not want to honour party founder M G Ramachandran and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa by keeping their portraits at his felicitation function but prominently displayed his own photos,” Sengottaiyan said referring to the event held in Annur in Coimbatore in February 2025 when Palaniswami was felicitated by farmers for ensuring the Athikadavu-Avinashi groundwater recharge and drinking water project in the district.
Sengottaiyan, who was then with the AIADMK, opposed the removal of the portraits of the party’s iconic leaders and abstained from the function.
“Even to this day, I have Amma’s (Jayalalithaa) photo in my shirt pocket. His (Palaniswami) dream of not wanting to keep the two leaders’ portraits has been shattered. Amma’s soul is punishing him now,” Sengottaiyan said.
After half-a-century of serving the AIADMK, Sengottaiyan joined the actor Vijay-led TVK in November 2025, after resigning as MLA from Gobichettipalayam. He was expelled for anti-party activities by Palaniswami in October last year.
Sengottaiyan was appointed as TVK chief coordinator and following his victory from Gobichettipalayam in the April 2026 election, he was inducted as a minister in Vijay’s cabinet on May 10. PTI JSP JSP KH
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