Two former Ministers of the AIADMK on Thursday did not turn up at the party’s district-wise consultations chaired by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami for their districts.

P. Balakrishna Reddy of Hosur and K.P. Anbalagan of Palacode were absent at the review sessions held for Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts respectively. 

On his non-participation, Mr Reddy told The Hindu: “I joined the party in 2006. I worked for 20 years. Now they are making all sorts of new changes. Let them do it. I didn’t attend because I was out of town. That’s all.” Mr  Anbalagan simply stated, “I just stayed back in my hometown. There is no other reason.”

In  Krishnaigiri which has six seats, the Dravidian major won in two seats Bargur and Hosur. The AIADMK’s deputy general secretary K.P. Munusamy, who is a member of the team that has been reviewing the party’s performance district-wise, lost in Veppanahalli by 138 votes. 

Out of five seats in Dharmapuri, it bagged three seats - Palacode, Pappireddipatti and Harur. Its ally, PMK, cornered Dharmapuri. In total, the AIADMK-led combine got four seats. 

Mr Reddy and Mr Anbalagan were among the 25 dissidents who had supported the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) at the time of the trust motion in the Assembly in May. For their defiance of the party’s line of approach, the two were stripped of the post of district secretary for Krishnagiri (west) and Dharmapuri units.  Even though Mr Palaniswami, a few weeks ago, sought to accommodate them and many such dissidents by offering some other positions in the party, the two former Ministers along with seven others wrote to him subsequently that they would prefer to remain “ordinary workers.”

Published - July 10, 2026 12:32 am IST