Newly elected AIADMK general secretary K Palaniswami on Sunday said his elevation to the post showed the "last man" could become a stakeholder in top heirarchy.?

He was happy he came to the post "not based on birth" but was democratically elected as the party's supreme leader, he said.?

In a thanksgiving message days after being elected unanimously as the party chief, the state Leader of Opposition thanked all those who had backed him and paid his tributes to late party leaders, the founder M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.?

Recalling his initial days as a branch secretary in Salem, he said the party has recognised his "work and honesty and made me the general secretary."?

"This is not merely a recognition for me; it is a recognition given by our paty to democracy. It is a moment where the party has shown that the last man in the country has a share in power," he said in a statement.?

"I am proud that I have assumed the responsibility as the general secretary of a party that decides the leadership on the basis of democracy and not based on birth," he said without specifying anyone.?He vowed to strive towards ensuring the party-led government again.