New Delhi: AIADMK leader CV Shanmugam on Wednesday targeted the party chief fiercely. Edappadi K Palaniswami He was removed from key party positions along with SP Velumani, C Vijayabhaskar and several other leaders amid the deepening rebellion within the AIADMK.Speaking to reporters, Shanmugam alleged that the party has faced continuous electoral setbacks since he took over the leadership of EPS following the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.Referring to Palaniswami’s response to criticism over repeated election defeats, Shanmugam said, “Today, when the General Secretary (EPS) is questioned as to why we lost, he replies by asking, ‘Didn’t the AIADMK lose in 1996? Didn’t we lose in 2006 too?’ Yes, we lost. But Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had the potential to bring the party back to power.”Praising Jayalalitha’s leadership, he said, “After every defeat, Amma would announce that she would restore MGR’s rule once again and she was successful in bringing the party back for a second term. It was Amma who delivered a landslide victory in the 1998 parliamentary elections. There was neither arrogance born of victory nor the tendency to hide after defeat.”Shanmugam further alleged that the electoral position of AIADMK has deteriorated under the leadership of EPS.He said, “More specifically, after General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami took over, not only did the defeats continue, but we should have at least increased our number of seats. Instead, with every election, our failures have become more serious, and we are continuously falling.”Calling for an internal review of the party’s performance, he said, “The defeat suffered by the AIADMK in the recently concluded assembly elections should be discussed. We need to deliberate and analyze the reasons behind these consecutive defeats. Especially after Amma’s demise in 2016, we are continuously facing defeats in parliamentary elections, assembly elections, by-elections or local body elections.”“The comments came hours after Palaniswami removed 25 rebel leaders and MLAs from party posts after they allegedly violated the party line and supported the TVK government during the trust motion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.