People know how EPS became CM, says Udhayanidhi

Chennai: A day after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami accused him of being inexperienced for his post, deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said people of Tamil Nadu knew how Palaniswami attained his position, which was by surpassing many seniors within AIADMK.
Udhayanidhi said after former chief minister J Jayalalithaa died, several senior AIADMK leaders were seen as potential candidates for CM post."It was said Sengottaiyan would be next CM. There were leaders like Semmalai, Dindigul C Sreenivasan, and senior to them all Panruti S Ramachandran. How did he (EPS) become CM surpassing all? People saw the drama on TV and on live TV," he said, recalling the Koovathur episode where AIADMK MLAs had gathered. Udhayanidhi urged Palaniswami to "think and speak" before criticising others.
Udhayanidhi said after Jayalalithaa's death, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam shared CM and deputy CM posts to maintain govt's continuity. He said internal splits within AIADMK followed after they lost the 2021 assembly election. "When they lost power, they split. The party split into three and four," he said. Udhayanidhi, who aggressively took up flood relief work in Chennai, said the CM, ministers, mayor, deputy mayor, and MPs were all engaged in relief work, but Palaniswami, who was in Chennai, did not visit the flood-affected areas and instead chose to travel to Salem.