# AIADMK leaders blame Palaniswami for poll losses, demand reinstatement 2026-08-09T10:48:30+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Senior AIADMK leaders Natham R Viswanathan and SP Velumani on Sunday blamed general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for the party's defeats in the 2021 and 2026 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, attributing the losses to flawed strategies. In a joint statement, they urged Palaniswami to reinstate over 400 functionaries removed after the 2026 Assembly election and called for the return of expelled leaders VK Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran to strengthen the party ahead of the 2031 Assembly election. Viswanathan and Velumani charged that Palaniswami's unilateral decisions cost the party alliances, including with the BJP, PMK, DMDK, and TVK, and forced 25 of the AIADMK's 47 MLAs to adopt an anti-DMK position. The New Indian Express reports the two leaders rejected the post of deputy general secretary offered by Palaniswami and signed the statement as MLAs. Times Now notes Velumani had earlier rebelled, backed the ruling TVK government, and later returned to the party fold. ## Coverage - newindianexpress.com - timesnownews.com Tags: AIADMK, Edappadi Palaniswami, election defeat, internal feud, Tamil Nadu politics, Viswanathan Velumani Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/aiadmk-leaders-blame-eps-for-defeats-seek-reinstatement/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/aiadmk-leaders-blame-eps-for-defeats-seek-reinstatement/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.