Fresh signs of discord and internal rift have emerged in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) after the party’s poor performance in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with its 47 MLAs
arriving in two separate groups to Tamil Nadu assembly to take oath.
One group of 11 MLAs arrived with former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, while another larger group of 36 legislators came separately under the leadership of senior leaders C V Shanmugam and S P Velumani, News Today reported.
According to India Today, citing party sources, several MLAs and former ministers are unhappy with Palaniswami’s leadership after AIADMK suffered four consecutive election defeats. The party won only 47 seats in the recent Assembly polls.
According to party insiders, leaders aligned with Shanmugam have reportedly asked the former Chief Minister to step down as party chief, blaming him for the repeated losses. However, sources said that Palaniswami is not willing to resign.
The growing divide between the EPS camp and leaders aligned with Shanmugam has fuelled fears of a possible split within the AIADMK. Earlier, there was a growing buzz that the Shanmugam-led faction could ally with actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which was, at that time, getting the required numbers to form the government.
Over 30 MLAs, including Shanmugam, camped at a resort in Puducherry last week. However, EPS later went to the resort in a bid to keep his flock united.
Around 28 MLAs were believed to favour closer ties with TVK. Among those linked to the rebel camp is MLA-elect Leema Rose, whose son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna is a senior TVK leader and considered close to Vijay.
There were also reports that the AIADMK was exploring the possibility of leaving the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) amid growing speculation of an unprecedented political understanding with its longtime rival, the DMK, to prevent Vijay’s TVK from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
The development followed a fractured verdict in the 234-member Assembly, where TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats but fell short of the majority mark of 118. The DMK secured 59 seats, while the AIADMK won 47. After days of hectic parleys with CPI, CPI (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), TVK managed to cross the majority mark. Following this, Vijay took oath as the Chief Minister at a mega event on Sunday.
The visible split during the Assembly session has highlighted the deepening crisis within the AIADMK at a crucial political moment in Tamil Nadu.
