Amid clear signs of a rift within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay visited the residence of AIADMK MLA CV Shanmugam in Chennai on Tuesday. Shanmugam is one of the leaders heading the camp supporting TVK’s Vijay.
This comes after reports of a rift in the AIADMK, with senior leaders SP Velumani and CV Shanmugam claiming that party president Edappadi K Palaniswami wanted to join hands with arch-rival DMK to keep TVK out of the ruling saddle.
The two leaders also extended their support to the Vijay-led administration.
About 30 MLA members are believed to be in the rebel camp who questioned Palaniswami’s leadership after the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections held on April 23, news agency PTI reported. The party won only 47 seats out of 164 seats.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, Shanmugam said that they will meet C Joseph Vijay to deliver a message in support of his government. According to the report, he also claimed that party general secretary Palaniswami wanted to form a government with the support of the DMK.
What the TVK support camp is saying
Shanmugam, who is said to be leading the camp, said the AIADMK party members were offered the option of forming a government with the support of the Stalin-led MK party. But the members refused to do so because it went against the basic principle of the party.
Shanmugam further said that the party needs a “new life” and “Amma’s (Jayalalithaa) rule” should return, hence adding that they should support TVK.
What did the AIADMK say?
The AIADMK dismissed the allegations as “rumours” and accused the dissident leaders of “unleashing a bag of lies” after failing to register victories in their respective areas.
In a post on X, the party also claimed that Velumani, Shanmugam and C Vijayabaskar were themselves seeking ministerial posts in the TVK government.
He asserted that alliance decisions cannot be taken by a handful of MLAs and asserted that party cadres remained firmly behind Palaniswami.
