AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and BJP state president K Annamalai traded barbs on Friday, blaming each other for their parties' struggles in Tamil Nadu.

Palaniswami, the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, criticized the BJP's performance in the Lok Sabha elections, attributing their failure to leaders like Annamalai. In response, Annamalai accused the AIADMK of being destroyed by the selfish interests of leaders like EPS.

Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, EPS said, "An image is being created that BJP started to grow in Tamil Nadu only after Annamalai became the president. That's not true. When BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan contested in Coimbatore in the 2014 elections, he lost to the AIADMK candidate by a mere 42,000 votes. Whereas, in 2024, Annamalai lost to the DMK by a margin of over 1,18,000 votes."

"Where has the BJP grown? In 2014, the BJP-led NDA had a vote share of 18.80 percent. Now, they have a vote share of 18.28 percent in Tamil Nadu. They have got fewer votes this time," he added.

EPS further slammed Annamalai for focusing on media appearances instead of bringing central government schemes to Tamil Nadu. "Annamalai is giving bytes to the media. What new scheme has he brought to Tamil Nadu from the Centre after he became state president? He is just fooling people," EPS said.

Reacting to these allegations, Annamalai termed EPS a "betrayer" and argued that AIADMK is weakening under his leadership. "Today, in front of our eyes, a wonderful party like AIADMK is being destroyed for the selfish gains of few leaders. Everyone in Tamil Nadu is watching this. It is being done for their selfish gains and greed for power," Annamalai said during his campaign for the upcoming Vikravandi Assembly bye-election.

"If the word 'betrayer' is apt for someone, it's EPS. PM Modi will make him (EPS) sit next to him in Delhi. But when he returns to Tamil Nadu, he thinks the grass is greener on the other side. Just for his selfish gains. AIADMK lost its deposit in many places like a Guinness record. People have punished the party because even though AIADMK maybe good, its leaders are not right," the BJP leader added.