Kadayanallur (Tamil Nadu), March 30 AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday criticized the ruling DMK for "harboring" those expelled from his party, saying it would gain nothing from them in the upcoming Assembly elections.
He questioned whether the DMK was in power, as it appeared to rely on those expelled from the AIADMK to contest the elections.
Palaniswami said that the DMK had given tickets to 19 leaders who were expelled from the AIADMK.
These include expelled leaders O Panneerselvam and R Vaithilingam.
During the election campaign, Palaniswami accused the DMK of "harboring" those expelled from the AIADMK. "Is there any gain from invalid votes? They have taken in those whom we cast out," Palaniswami said while campaigning for his party candidate, C Krishnamurali here.
However, the AIADMK, formed by late chief minister M G Ramachandran and nurtured by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, was different from the DMK. "Ours is a cadre-based organization," the former CM, who is seeking re-election from the Edappadi Assembly constituency, said.
The DMK was dependent on its allies, and Chief Minister M K Stalin boasts of having several parties in his alliance. But irrespective of the number of parties in that alliance, one could only win the elections when the people deliver their mandate, he said.
"The AIADMK, which relies on the people for support, has formed the alliance to serve the people, to resolve their problems, and to dislodge the DMK from power," Palaniswami said.
He alleged that several attempts were made to "break" the AIADMK, but the party only emerged stronger by overcoming the hurdles imposed by its political foes.
Palaniswami said that the AIADMK would waive off the crop loans of farmers once it formed the government by winning over 200 seats.
