AIADMK splits; rival faction with two-thirds of its legislators supports C. V. Shanmugam as legislature party leader

Even as the AIADMK is yet to recover from the severe drubbing it suffered in the Assembly elections, the party has now split, with a rival faction commanding a two-thirds majority on Monday submitting letters staking claim to the post of Legislature Party leader, challenging party General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS).

Ironically, the rallying point of the rebel camp is none other than S.P. Velumani, a trusted lieutenant of EPS. As many as 30 MLAs have proposed Velumani as the Legislature Party leader. The rebel faction is reportedly in favour of supporting Vijay-led ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), a move strongly resisted by EPS.

Advertisement

While the AIADMK-led NDA secured 47 seats in the election, pushing the party to third place, only 17 MLAs extended support to EPS. The letter submitted to the Pro-Tem Speaker by EPS in the morning carried signatures of only those 17 legislators. In contrast, 30 MLAs signed the letter submitted later in the evening backing Velumani.

Earlier in the day, when the Assembly convened for newly elected members to take oath, the two groups arrived separately, underlining the widening divide within the party. The rival faction reportedly enjoys the backing of influential former ministers, including C. Vijayabhaskar.

The political drama, however, had begun immediately after the election results were announced, with senior leader Shanmugam raising the banner of revolt.

When AIADMK legislators, who had been lodged at a private resort in Puducherry, returned to Chennai, a majority of them assembled at Shanmugam’s residence, signalling a clear split within the party.

Leaders opposed to EPS argue that the AIADMK has suffered successive electoral defeats under his leadership since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. They also point to the party’s poor performance in local body polls as evidence of its declining support base.

“This is wrong information,” EPS told the media, dismissing reports of a split, while Shanmugam cryptically remarked, “Wait for some more time.”

According to reports, Shanmugam was upset over EPS allegedly attempting to work with the DMK to support a government headed by Dalit leader and VCK president Thol.

Thirumavalavan, MP. Shanmugam, on the other hand, had reportedly been advocating an alliance with Vijay’s TVK immediately after the election results were declared.

Meanwhile, party workers have begun gathering at the residence of EPS to express solidarity, even as the rebel camp is expected to meet Vijay and formally extend support to the TVK government.

However, it remains to be seen whether the rebel AIADMK faction’s support to TVK — and the possibility of joining the government — will create tensions within the ruling alliance and alienate parties such as the Left, VCK, and IUML, all of which have offered unconditional support to the government.