Newly elected lawmakers of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) attended the swearing-in ceremony of the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Monday in two groups, deepening the impression of a rift in the party after it bagged 47 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
AIADMK legislators traditionally meet at the entrance of the Assembly and enter the house as a united bloc at the beginning of the Assembly sessions or oath-taking ceremonies. This time, the party MLAs came in two separate groups, one led by former chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami and the other led by leaders, CV Shanmugam, and SP Velumani.
The two AIADMK groups sat separately in the meeting during the function and left the venue separately as well.
Shanmugam, Velumani and their supporters have shown interest in supporting the Vijay-led TVK, which has formed the government in the state, people familiar with the matter said.
TVK won 108 seats in the recently held state elections, defeating the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party and leaving the AIADMK far behind in the elections. TVK with 107 seats (after Vijay’s resignation from Tiruchirappalli East) has since formed a government with the support of 13 MLAs from the Congress, VCK, IUML and Left parties.
The election results sparked unrest in the AIADMK as a group of legislators showed interest in extending support to TVK.
On Monday, social media posts and media reports emerged suggesting that two factions of the party had submitted separate letters to the new Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker in favor of her, naming former chief minister and party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and Velumani as leaders of their respective legislative parties. This cannot be independently verified.
“There is a clear division within the party. Many MLAs want a change in leadership. If Palaniswami continues as leader, there is a possibility that some MLAs will extend support to TVK,” former AIADMK leader KC Palanisamy told PTI.
A senior party leader downplayed the significance of the division.
“By analyzing the reasons for the defeat and finding necessary solutions, the party will bounce back… I say this with full conviction and confidence,” the leader said, adding that Palaniswami’s only goal is “the welfare of the common people.”
When asked about his possible resignation, the leader said: “Why should he resign? He worked for the welfare of Edappadi constituency and saw how successful he was in sustaining that constituency. He also won more than 98,000 votes.”
Political analyst Sathyalaya Ramakrishnan said the misunderstanding between AIADMK leaders should be resolved through dialogue and unity. “I feel so far the party is united as all the AIADMK MLAs were sitting together in the Assembly. Senior AIADMK leaders should ensure that there is no division in the party,” Ramakrishnan told PTI.
The winning AIADMK candidate from Lalgudi Lima constituency Rose Martin – whose brother-in-law is TVK MP Aadhav Arjuna – had last week said that talks were ongoing between Palaniswami and TVK. Soon after reports of the talks emerged, more than two dozen AIADMK MLAs were taken to a resort in neighboring Puducherry.
The party faced successive electoral setbacks including the 2019 Parliament elections, 2021 Assembly elections, 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and 2021 Assembly elections. In addition, the party also lost the by-elections in 2025.
