AIADMK will bounce back: Palaniswami

Chennai, Jul 8 (PTI) AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday asserted that his party will bounce back from its current slump and regain its winning streak. Addressing party cadres on the fifth consecutive day of an intensive review meet involving party functionaries from Tirunelveli and Trichy districts, at the party headquarters in Royapettah, Palaniswami urged party leaders and cadres not to be disheartened by the results, emphasising that electoral dips are temporary phases in political journeys. "Do not feel disheartened by the election defeat. AIADMK will certainly rise again from this defeat and return to the path of victory." The AIADMK leadership has initiated a district-wise postmortem to analyse the factors behind the drop in vote shares. The consultative sessions, which commenced on July 3, have systematically gathered ground-level feedback from key party functionaries across various zones. The initial review meeting focused on Chennai and Vellore regions, moving to Tiruvannamalai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, and the delta strongholds of Thanjavur. Tuesday's session reviewed the performance metrics from Ranipet, Tirupattur, and Thiruvallur districts, and Wednesday's focus was on Tiruchirappalli, with specific emphasis on analysing the vote-share fluctuations in the Tiruchirappalli East constituency. Addressing the issue of exodus from the party to the ruling TVK, Palaniswami dismissed the idea that it impacted the AIADMK’s core strength. "Do not worry about those who have left AIADMK to join the TVK. Let anyone go. Those who have left are gone. Our focus must be to remain strong," Palaniswami told the gathering. The AIADMK chief closed the strategy session with a clear call to action, urging the cadres to put past losses aside and maintain an undivided front and stressed absolute unity among the rank. PTI SNR SNR ADB