Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026: 3-Time Chief Minister O Panneerselvam Joins DMK, Calls Palaniswami 'Dictator'
OPS was unsuccessfully struggling for over three years to join his parent outfit again.
Published : February 27, 2026 at 10:34 AM IST
Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Friday said the AIADMK does not tend to embrace everyone. The expelled AIADMK leader was speaking to the press in Chennai, after joining the Dravid Munnetra Kazagham.
A staunch supporter of the late AIADMK stalwart Jayalalithaa, Panneerselvam joined DMK at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam here, in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin.
After the death of AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa, the party split into several factions due to internal conflicts. Panneerselvam was expelled from the AIADMK in July 2022, primarily due to a bitter leadership struggle with the current General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami.
Coming down heavily on Palaniswami, OPS said,” Edappadi Palaniswami, who is behaving arrogantly like a dictator in politics today, has created a situation for the AIADMK where it will never be able to win again. After the demise of Amma (Jayalalithaa), lakhs of AIADMK workers have accepted the leadership of Thalapathy (Stalin) and joined the DMK. The country is looking at Thalapathy closely.”
Panneerselvam has served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu three times. Yet, he was unsuccessfully struggling for over two years to join his parent outfit again. But Palaniswami had categorically stated that he cannot be reinducted into the party.
There were also rumours that OPS was expected to start a new party. But Panneerselvam chose to join the DMK along with his supporters. He has been meeting and talking to DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
“DMK has emerged as the best option in protecting the Dravidian movement, its ideology and the people of Tamil Nadu. My gratitude to Thalapathy, who embraced me with affection. Today I have joined DMK as a volunteer. I will work hard for the development of DMK," he said, adding that Stalin embraces all the members with a motherly heart in the Legislative Assembly. There is a mood of support for Thalapathy among all sections of the people
This move also follows recent praise by the OPS camp for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and a prediction related to the return of the DMK government in the state. Earlier, Tamil Nadu MLA P Ayyappan, who is seen as being part of O Paneerselvam's camp, had expressed his desire to see M. Stalin lead the state again following the next assembly polls.
Ayyappan stated in the Assembly that Stalin must once again become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. " In the upcoming election, MK Stalin should once again win and return as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. With the blessings of Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, and with the wishes of our elder brother O. Panneerselvam, I express my gratitude at this moment," Ayyappan said.
OPS Resign MLA Post
After joining DMK, Panneerselvam resigned from his post as AIADMK Legislative Assembly Member (MLA) from Bodinayakkanur constituency. He met Legislative Assembly Secretary Srinivasan in person at the Chennai Secretariat on Friday and submitted his resignation letter. His supporter, Ayyappan, also resigned as MLA from Usilampatti constituency.
No Posts Offered
Sources in DMK said that OPS will not be given any positions in the party. If the DMK wins the elections and forms the government again, OPS will be seated as the next Speaker. The sources further said that the rule is that the Speaker should not hold any position in the party, and therefore, no position is offered to Panneerselvam.
On the other hand, Jayalalithaa's long-time aide Sasikala recently introduced the flag to start her own party. TTV Dinakaran, another close friend of the late leader, has joined hands with the BJP's National Democratic Alliance. Palaniswami, who currently leads the AIADMK, has announced that it will contest the 2026 election as part of the National Democratic Alliance.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026, where the MK Stalin-led alliance will look to project the 'Dravidian Model 2.0' for the win against the BJP-AIADMK alliance.
Actor-turned-politician Vijay's entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest.
In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively. While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats.
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