The AIADMK rebel faction also claimed that majority party MLAs back them, not EPS, and that their only alliance was with TVK.
The spectacular political rise of actor-turned-politician Vijay has triggered a full-blown internal crisis within the AIADMK, with rival camps now openly battling over whether to support the new Tamil Nadu government or continue under party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Just days after Vijay was sworn in as chief minister, a major faction within the AIADMK publicly extended support to his government, exposing deep divisions in the party that once dominated Tamil Nadu politics.
The faction led by senior AIADMK leaders CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani on Tuesday announced support for the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government. “The people’s mandate is not for TVK. The mandate is for Vijay to become the chief minister,” Shanmugam said while congratulating the new chief minister and extending support to the government.
The faction also claimed that a majority of the party's 47 MLAs were backing them, not party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami. The camp asserted that while EPS retained the support of only around 20-22 legislators, most MLAs favoured extending support to the Vijay-led TVK government in the interest of political stability.
Worst crisis for AIADMK since Jayalalithaa
The turmoil follows AIADMK’s crushing defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly election. The party contested 167 seats but managed to win only 47 - among its poorest performances since the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016.
In contrast, Vijay’s TVK stunned political observers by emerging as the single-largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member assembly.t one stage after the results, TVK was still short of the majority mark despite support from the Congress and allies, triggering intense political negotiations across Tamil Nadu.
comments
Other categories
Recent Comments
