Chennai, Sep 15 (IANS) Ousted former AIADMK interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala on Monday made a fresh appeal for the unification of AIADMK factions before next year’s Assembly election, asserting that party workers across Tamil Nadu longed to see a united front.

Speaking to reporters at her Poes Garden residence, Sasikala — once the closest aide of late J. Jayalalithaa — stressed that the party’s electoral prospects depended on reconciliation.

“Everyone in the AIADMK wants the factions to unite before the 2026 Assembly elections. I also want it,” she said, adding that unification must happen before the polls, not after.

Admitting that reconciliation would not be easy, she observed, “It is very easy to reject someone, but accepting one into the fold is a very difficult task. This takes time.”

Sasikala underlined that the ultimate goal of the party was to end the DMK’s rule and restore the “Amma” era under Jayalalithaa’s legacy.

“My work will be oriented towards merger and the party’s victory,” she said.

Urging members to move forward, she added, “Let what occurred in the past be considered as over. Let what unfolds from now on be on a good note.”

Her remarks found resonance with senior AIADMK leader K.A. Sengottaiyan, who has been vocal about reconciliation.

Reiterating his earlier call for unity, the former minister said in Erode, “Let us forget and forgive. I have already said that AIADMK should be unified in order to become stronger.”

Sengottaiyan had earlier set a ten-day deadline for party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami to take steps towards re-admitting expelled leaders.

Meanwhile, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK) general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who was also expelled from the AIADMK, struck a more cautious note.

While welcoming unity, he categorically ruled out accepting Palaniswami as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2026 polls. Dhinakaran had recently severed ties with the BJP, which continues to project Palaniswami as its preferred Chief Ministerial face.

However, BJP state president K. Nainar Nagendran indicated a willingness to explore a broader alliance, expressing openness to negotiations with Dhinakaran and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam to bring them back under the NDA umbrella.

With the Assembly elections just months away, the growing chorus for unity within the AIADMK underscores the high stakes — not only for the party’s survival but also for Tamil Nadu’s political landscape in 2026.

—IANS

aal/rad