AIADMK rift: Party chief removes 25 functionaries for backing TVK’s Vijay in Tamil Nadu

Internal rift in All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) deepened on Wednesday (May 13) as party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami removed party leaders from their posts for supporting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay. This comes after the legislature party witnessed a vertical split during the trust vote on the floor of the Assembly. While a total of 25 MLAs, including senior leaders SP Velumani, C Ve Shanmugam and C Vijayabaskar, voted in favour of the confidence motion moved by CM Vijay, 22 MLAs led by Palaniswami voted against it.

Following the voting, AIADMK chief removed the rebel leaders, filling the vacant positions with new district secretaries and party functionaries. Natham Viswanathan has also been removed from the posts of AIADMK Deputy General Secretary and Dindigul East District Secretary.

Slamming the move, Shanmugam, who was removed from the posts of Organising Secretary and Villupuram District Secretary, said, “After General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami assumed responsibility, not only have the defeats continued, but we should at least have been increasing our number of seats. Instead, with every election, our setbacks have become more severe, and we have been steadily declining.”

“Today, when the General Secretary (EPS) is questioned about why we lost, he responds by asking, ‘Didn’t the AIADMK lose in 1996? Didn’t we lose in 2006 as well?’ Yes, we did lose. But Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had the capability to bring the party back to power again. After every defeat, Amma would declare that she would restore MGR’s rule once more, and she succeeded in bringing the party back to office for a second term. It was Amma (Jayalalithaa) who delivered a massive victory in the 1998 Parliamentary elections. There was neither arrogance born out of victory nor a tendency to hide away after defeat,” he added.

Remembering late supremo J Jayalalithaa, Shanmugam said, “Amma’s sole objective was the success of the movement founded by MGR. She never carried the attitude that “I alone am supreme” or that everyone must come to her without question.”

The move is being seen as one of the biggest disciplinary actions taken by the AIADMK leadership since internal dissent erupted in the party after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The action came amid an open revolt within the AIADMK following the election results, with a section of party MLAs accusing EPS of diluting the party’s traditional anti-DMK position and allegedly attempting to strike an understanding with the DMK to stop Vijay from coming to power.

The rebellion became evident during Vijay’s trust vote in the Assembly, when rebel AIADMK legislators backed the TVK-led government, helping it secure a majority in the 234-member House. The developments have since intensified the leadership tussle within the AIADMK, with dissenting leaders demanding organisational reforms and the return of expelled leaders to strengthen the party ahead of upcoming elections.