Chennai: Signs of deepening unrest within the AIADMK emerged on Thursday as former minister and Coimbatore strongman S P Velumani skipped the Assembly election review meeting chaired by party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. The party suffered another setback with former Coimbatore Lok Sabha candidate Singai G Ramachandran quitting.Velumani’s supporters also stayed away from the meeting in a show of solidarity, underscoring the continuing strain between the former minister and the party leadership. Despite the boycott, Palaniswami went ahead with the review, holding discussions with district functionaries and defeated candidates on the party’s performance in each constituency and the reasons for its losses.Singai G Ramachandran said in the letter to Palaniswami that he was stepping down from all party posts as well as its primary membership.“Certain developments within the party over the past several months have caused me deep disappointment and emotional pain. I have sincerely shared my thoughts and concerns with the party leadership in detail. But when I could no longer reconcile what I was witnessing with my conscience, I made this difficult decision,” he said in his resignation letter.Party insiders said Velumani, along with former minister C Ve Shanmugam, has continued to distance himself from Palaniswami by repeatedly staying away from review meetings held after the Assembly polls. Senior leaders admitted that the public display of disunity and exodus of functionaries could hurt the party’s image at a time when it is facing a series of electoral setback.
