AIADMK crisis deepens as three rebel legislators resign and join Vijay-led TVK
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "AIADMK crisis deepens as three rebel legislators resign and join Vijay-led TVK")
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay meets AIADMK rebel MLA C.V. Shanmugam. Photograph: (ANI)
The three were part of a rebel faction of 30 MLAs that voted in favour of the Vijay-led government during the Assembly trust vote, defying the AIADMK whip and risking disqualification under the anti-defection law.
In a fresh blow to the opposition AIADMK amid its continuing internal crisis after the recent Assembly election setback, three of its MLAs resigned from the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday (May 25) and joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
The legislators who resigned include Madurantakam representative Ms Maragadam Kumaravel, Perundurai member Jayakumar and Dharapuram representative Ms Sathyabama. The three had recently voted in favour of the Vijay-led government during the Assembly trust vote, going against the AIADMK whip and risking disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The three MLAs met Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar at the State Secretariat and personally submitted their resignation letters. Soon after tendering their resignations, the three leaders met senior TVK leader and Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna and formally joined the ruling party.
The resignations come amid deepening factionalism within the AIADMK following the Assembly elections, in which the party finished a distant third. The political turmoil escalated after a section of AIADMK MLAs extended support to the Vijay-led government during the trust vote held on May 13.
The rebel faction, led by senior AIADMK leaders and former ministers S P Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam, had earlier secured the support of around 30 of the 47AIADMK legislators for the TVK government.
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However, five rebel legislators later returned to the camp led by AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, taking his faction’s strength in the Assembly to 27, while 17 legislators continue to remain with the rebel group.
The AIADMK leadership had approached the Speaker seeking action against the rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law, arguing that the dissident faction did not possess the required two-thirds majority needed to avoid disqualification.
Political observers believe the three vacant seats could soon witness bypolls, with the former AIADMK legislators likely to contest on TVK tickets. There is also speculation that more rebel MLAs could either shift towards the ruling TVK or return to the Palaniswami camp in the coming weeks, further weakening the Velumani-Shanmugam faction.
