AIADMK's fragile unity tested as EPS battles SC challenge, BJP pressure for reunification

In a development that could impact the fragile unity within Tamil Nadu's principal Opposition party, the expelled AIADMK member S Suriyamoorthy has filed a fresh appeal in the Supreme Court against EPS’s position as the party's general secretary.

What petition demands

Coming just months before the 2026 state Assembly elections, the petition challenges EPS's 2022 election by the general council and calls for direct cadre voting in line with party bylaws. This appeal raises the specter of renewed instability within the party, even as external pressures from the BJP high command mounts for reconciliation with rebels like O Panneerselvam (OPS), VK Sasikala, and TTV Dhinakaran.

Suriyamoorthy's special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court contests the Madras High Court's interim stay on a lower court order that had allowed his 2022 civil suit to proceed. The suit argues that Rules 20 and 43 of the AIADMK bylaws bar the general council from electing the general secretary, instead mandating grassroots poll among primary members.

Judicial saga

EPS has consistently argued that Suriyamoorthy lacks locus standi, pointing to his 2017 expulsion and his 2021 Assembly election bid under the allied MGR Makkal Katchi banner.

The Madras High Court, in August 2025, granted EPS temporary relief by staying the proceedings, but Suriyamoorthy's escalation to the apex court filed today (December 8) seeks to vacate that order and enforce cadre-based elections.

Also read: EPS calls Sengottaiyan ‘betrayer’, asserts AIADMK will sweep 2026 elections

This marks the latest chapter in a long-drawn judicial saga that dates back to the turmoil in the party after Jayalalithaa's death.

In 2022, a similar High Court single-judge order imposing status quo on EPS's elevation was overturned by a division bench, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023, solidifying his leadership.

Sowing discord

Yet, parallel disputes persist, as the Election Commission of India (ECI) is probing the party's 'two leaves' symbol amid petitions from expelled members, with the High Court in February 2025 greenlighting those hearings despite EPS's objections.

Observers note that while the Supreme Court is unlikely to upend EPS's position overnight given precedents favouring internal party resolutions, this petition could embolden rebels and delay key decisions, sowing discord as the party eyes a comeback after its 2021 rout.

BJP pressure

Compounding the legal peril, sources indicate the BJP's national leadership is intensifying efforts to broker AIADMK reunification, viewing a fragmented Dravidian majority as a boon for the DMK.

Also read: BJP courts OPS, Dhinakaran to revive NDA in Tamil Nadu amid Vijay’s political surge

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and senior party strategists have reportedly urged EPS during recent Delhi meetings to bring back OPS, Sasikala, and Dhinakaran, as key influencers among the Thevar community in southern Tamil Nadu to consolidate the NDA's vote share. This is also to counter actor Vijay's surging Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and other independents.

The BJP’s stance is driven by electoral calculations: OPS’s faction still commands residual loyalty among the leaders expelled in 2022, Sasikala maintains a symbolic presence as the self‑proclaimed general secretary, and Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) secured 4–5 per cent of the vote share in 2021, splitting the anti‑DMK base.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagendran has publicly signalled openness to accommodate these groups within the alliance, echoing pre-2021 overtures that EPS rebuffed.

No impact for EPS

A senior journalist, however, downplayed any dent to EPS's stature with this new development.

"His core subordinates, over 90 per cent of the executive committee remain loyal, ensuring that the organisational machinery stays intact," said Priyan. Further, he added, "The rebels' influence is waning; OPS and Dhinakaran's exits from the NDA in 2025 have isolated them further."

Also read: Why Sengottaiyan quit AIADMK and joined TVK, and what is BJP's game plan?

With the AIADMK-BJP tie-up revived in late 2025 but since the alliance lacks more allies, BJP's frustration is palpable, potentially causing a strain in NDA, if unity talks falter.

AIADMK's key meeting

The timing could not be more precarious. The AIADMK's general council and executive committee are slated to convene on December 10, in Chennai's Vanagaram, the first such high-level huddle since the revival of the BJP-AIADMK alliance.

Chaired by presidium head A Thamizhmagan Hussain and presided over by EPS, the sessions are expected to hammer out 2026 strategies, seat-sharing with BJP, campaign themes targeting DMK's governance lapses, and alliance expansions. Invitations mandate attendance, underscoring EPS's bid to project solidarity.

The meeting is being held under the shadow of OPS's December 15 deadline to EPS to initiate reunification. OPS, who met Shah recently and extracted 'kind words' of support, has hinted at DMK overtures, citing precedents like the presence of seven ex-AIADMK ministers in TN Chief Minister MK Stalin's cabinet.