AIADMK left splintered as Vijay government sails through floor test

The day was Vijay's, but the limelight was on Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government led by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, after a one-week struggle cobbling coalitions and struggling with MLA numbers, sailed through the confidence motion in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly today (May 13). However, the two-year-old party's win has translated into a deep crisis for the five-decade-old AIADMK.

The motion received 144 votes in favour, 22 against, and five abstentions. Of the 144 votes in favour, 120 came from the TVK and the parties it had roped in for support — the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML. The balance 24 votes came from AIADMK rebel MLAs, bringing to the open a simmering rift within the party.

While Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) and 21 of his party MLAs voted against the confidence motion, the 24 party rebels crossed over to support the TVK government.

Crack in AIADMK becomes official

The floor test has crystallised an open vertical split in the AIADMK, with two parallel factions now clearly operating in the Assembly. One group functions under the leadership of senior leaders CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani, while the other remains loyal to EPS.

Both factions reportedly continue to recognise EPS as the party’s General Secretary at the organisational level, but the rebellion centres on strategic and ideological differences, particularly regarding any possible understanding with the DMK.

Also Read: Vijay’s suit sparks debate on politics, identity and symbolism

Shanmugam strongly defended the decision of the rebel MLAs and levelled serious allegations against EPS. “Claiming that we violated the AIADMK whip is wrong. Only the Assembly party can elect its leader and whip. The General Secretary cannot unilaterally appoint one,” he told media persons.

He questioned the authenticity of any AIADMK legislature party meeting supposedly convened by EPS and challenged him to produce minutes or resolutions. He further alleged that EPS last week met rebel MLAs lodged in a private resort in Puducherry and offered them ministerial berths in a government he would head with outside support from the DMK and possibly the BJP.

‘EPS claimed external DMK’s support’

“He told us he had spoken to the top leadership and that they had agreed. He said he would become Chief Minister with DMK’s external support,” Shanmugam claimed, adding that the rebels firmly opposed any tie-up with the DMK, describing it as a “destructive force” that the AIADMK was originally formed to counter.

Also read: Why Vijay's TVK win doesn't mark the end of Dravidian politics in TN

He also revealed that on May 8, the rebel MLAs held their own meeting and elected Velumani as Leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party by majority. The group has submitted a representation to the Speaker asserting their majority and demanding recognition of their office-bearers.

Velumani echoed the demand for introspection following the party’s repeated electoral setbacks. “We have no intention of breaking the party. We must analyse the continuous defeats,” he said. He reiterated his long-standing demand to bring back expelled senior leaders including former ministers KA Sengottaiyan, O Panneerselvam (OPS), VK Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran into the fold to strengthen the party. He criticised EPS for consistently rejecting such reconciliation efforts.

‘Thirumavalan was considered for CM’

The rebels claimed they had even proposed an alternative arrangement in which Thol Thirumavalavan of the VCK could be accepted as a consensus chief ministerial face with significant AIADMK representation in the cabinet. But EPS rejected it outright, insisting he would either become Chief Minister or sit in the opposition, they said.

The dissenting MLAs maintained that their support to the TVK government was based on the shared goal of countering the DMK, not any ministerial ambition.

EPS, on his part, had earlier described the party’s win in 47 seats as a significant achievement, a claim the rebels dismissed as denial of reality. They pointed out that unlike former leader J Jayalalithaa, who accepted responsibility for defeats, EPS had never done so, be it the Lok Sabha election performance in 2019 and 2024, or the Assembly election performance in 2021 and 2026.

The developments mark the most serious public rupture in the AIADMK since the death of Jayalalithaa, when EPS and OPS fought a pitched battle for leadership.