- A group of 30 AIADMK leaders declared support for Vijay's government ahead of trust vote
- AIADMK rebels criticised party chief Palaniswami for poor performance in April assembly polls
- Rebels accused Palaniswami of seeking DMK support, which they oppose as against party principles
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay appears to have no dearth of support ahead of the big trust vote on Wednesday. A group of 30 AIADMK leaders, led by senior leaders SP Velumani and C V Shanmugam, announced support for the Vijay-led government.
The AIADMK rebel camp has questioned party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami's leadership following the party's debacle in the April 23 assembly polls, where it won only 47 out of the 164 seats it contested.
Speaking to reporters, Shanmugam said they would meet C Joseph Vijay to provide a letter supporting his government. He also alleged that party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami wanted to form a government with the DMK's support.
Pointing out that the AIADMK was floated to oppose and "uproot" the DMK, Shanmugam said all the party members opposed Palaniswami's proposal to form a government with the support of the MK Stalin-led party. He added that any such proposal contradicted the AIADMK's fundamental principles.
The party needs a "new life now," and the "Amma (Jayalalithaa) rule" should return, and therefore, he added, they should support TVK.
The AIADMK leadership, however, dismissed the allegations as "rumours" and accused the dissident leaders of "unleashing a bag of lies" after failing to secure victories in their own districts.
In a post on X, the party also alleged that Velumani, Shanmugam and C Vijayabaskar were themselves seeking ministerial berths in the TVK government. It asserted that alliance decisions could not be taken by a handful of MLAs and maintained that party cadre remained firmly behind Palaniswami.
The rumblings in the MGR-founded AIADMK revived memories of the internal power struggles that followed the deaths of founder M G Ramachandran in 1987 and then chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016.
DMK also dismissed Shanmugam's claims of post-poll alliance talks between the two parties, accusing him of trying to create a "split" within his own party.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, or TVK, which emerged with 108 seats in its electoral debut, has been seeking support from smaller parties and independents to cross the majority mark of 118 seats. Congress, CPI and CPI(M) had already extended support to the Vijay-led party.
In another development, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran today expelled party MLA S Kamaraj from the primary membership of the party and removed him from all party responsibilities with immediate effect after he extended support to the Vijay government in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
