Thol. Thirumavalavan appreciates Sengottaiyan’s attempt to unify AIADMK factions

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader and MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on Friday (September 5, 2025) appreciated the efforts taken by senior AIADMK leader K.A. Sengottaiyan toward unifying the party’s factions. He, however, pointed out that Mr. Sengottaiyan’s refusal to name the leaders who needed to be readmitted into the AIADMK had raised questions.

Addressing journalists in Madurai on Friday after attending a memorial service, Mr. Thirumavalavan, whose party is an ally of the ruling DMK, said even if this was an internal matter of the AIADMK, the party had also stemmed from the “Periyar movement.“ He said that this was why, out of respect, he had expressed concerns that the AIADMK should not ally with the BJP and RSS, which could result in its decline.

Mr. Thirumavalavan said it was not known on what basis or circumstances Mr. Sengottaiyan had acted, but there was a widespread perception that the BJP could be behind it. “If that is the case, then it is not good for the future of the AIADMK,” he said.

Criticism has also arisen that the BJP was indirectly exerting pressure on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami. “We have seen in the past that whenever the BJP had entered into an alliance with regional parties, those parties ended up being diluted,” he said.

The VCK leader added the DMK-led alliance was strong in Tamil Nadu and that no one strong enough had emerged to challenge it. The attempts made by Mr. Sengottaiyan showed that the AIADMK itself was not complete. Also, political parties were quitting the NDA and as such, the alliance had not yet taken shape in Tamil Nadu, he added.

He appreciated the steps taken to unveil the portrait of Periyar by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on the University of Oxford campus in the United Kingdom. Through this, the thoughts and ideals of Periyar will spread all over the world, he said.