Chennai, Sep 17 : AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran launched a sharp attack on AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami, questioning why the Opposition leader had "covered" his face while leaving Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence in Delhi.

'Why should Palaniswami hide his face after meeting the Home Minister? Who is he trying to deceive? From now on, he will be called 'Masked Palaniswami'. The people of Tamil Nadu will no longer be misled, and his defeat in the 2026 elections is certain,' Dhinakaran declared at a press conference on Wednesday.

The remark came amid an escalating crisis inside the AIADMK. Trouble began when veteran leader and former Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan demanded that those expelled from the party be reinstated, issuing a 10-day ultimatum.

Palaniswami responded by stripping him of his posts, intensifying factional tensions. Sengottaiyan then rushed to Delhi, where he met Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, triggering speculation about the BJP's role in AIADMK affairs.

With the deadline expiring, Palaniswami too flew to Delhi, though he appeared visibly uneasy when pressed by reporters at Chennai airport about the reason for his visit.

Once in the national capital, he first called on newly elected Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan to offer greetings, before proceeding to Amit Shah's residence in the evening.

He was accompanied by senior leaders, including former Ministers S.P. Velumani, Dindigul Srinivasan, K.P. Munusamy, and MPs M. Thambidurai, C.V. Shanmugam and IS Inbadurai.

The controversy erupted after a purported video emerged showing Palaniswami leaving Shah's house late at night in a car. He had a white towel on his face as seen in the video, which quickly went viral in Tamil Nadu.

The optics led to widespread speculation and provided fodder for rivals like Dhinakaran to ridicule him publicly.

Attempting damage control, Palaniswami, the next morning, released photographs of his meeting with Amit Shah on social media.

He stated that he had urged the Home Minister to award the Bharat Ratna to freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar. Yet he offered no clarity on what else was discussed, leaving questions hanging.

As AIADMK grapples with internal rebellion and the BJP's influence looms large, Palaniswami's 'masked exit' has become a political flashpoint, fueling both ridicule and intrigue in Tamil Nadu's already charged political atmosphere.

/IANS