Chennai, 18 September (H.S.): Fresh signs of factionalism have emerged in the AIADMK after three senior leaders were excluded from the party's list of star campaigners for the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly bypolls scheduled for October 6.

Former ministers C Ve Shanmugam, SP Velumani and P Thangamani do not figure on the list submitted by the AIADMK to the Election Commission. The list contains the names of leaders authorised to campaign for the party's candidates in the two constituencies.

The omission has triggered speculation over continuing differences within the party, particularly between the camp led by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and senior functionaries associated with Shanmugam and Velumani. All three excluded leaders have significant organisational experience and considerable influence among party cadres.

Internal differences reportedly intensified following the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, when a section of the leadership favoured extending support to the TVK government. The issue created divisions within the AIADMK and strained relations between Palaniswami and some prominent leaders.

Palaniswami subsequently removed Shanmugam and Velumani from their respective district secretary posts. Although both leaders were later assigned other organisational responsibilities, they were not reinstated in the influential district-level positions they had previously held.

Shanmugam and Velumani have reportedly been pressing the leadership to restore their former posts and those held by their supporters. They have also demanded that the party's general council be convened to discuss organisational and political issues. However, the AIADMK leadership has not accepted these demands so far.

The exclusion of the three leaders from the campaign list is expected to intensify the debate over unity within the principal opposition party. It also raises questions about whether the leadership will involve them in the crucial bypoll campaign at a later stage or continue to keep them away from major party programmes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman