AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has launched a new daily newspaper titled ‘Porvaal’, releasing a preview edition on Wednesday. The move comes amid a continuing split within the party and a dispute over control of its media platforms.
According to the report, AIADMK’s official outlets earlier included ‘Namadhu MGR’ and Jaya TV. After former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s death, these reportedly came under the control of V K Sasikala’s side, following which ‘Namadhu Amma’ and News J were started when Palaniswami was chief minister.
Though ‘Namadhu Amma’ and News J functioned as party outlets, their legal administration was said to be with a group linked to former minister C V Shanmugam. After the party’s Assembly election defeat, Shanmugam’s side is reported to have turned against Palaniswami, and the outlets are now described as operating in opposition to him—making it difficult to publish AIADMK announcements fully.
Former minister Agri Krishnamurthy said key party announcements and events would hereafter be carried in ‘Porvaal’, which has now been declared the party’s official daily.
The report also notes that ‘Porvaal’ was originally launched in 1984 by late AIADMK minister S D Somasundaram and later run by his son Selvam. It adds that some from Shanmugam’s side have alleged Palaniswami chose a non-leader name for the paper due to an intent to work with the DMK in the future.
