The AIADMK headquarters here came under tight police security on Thursday in the wake of the widening dispute within the party.
Additional police personnel were deployed as a precaution to prevent a recurrence of the violent clashes that broke out between rival factions in 2022. The violence led to the looting of buildings.
The party is currently facing a major internal split, with one faction led by its general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and a splinter group headed by C Ve Shanugm and SP Velumani.
The division became clear after the floor test held in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday. The ruling TVK saw its number of seats rise to 144 in the 234-member House after 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs allied with the Velumani-Shanmugam camp voted for it.
Subsequently, Palaniswami removed 25 MLAs, which include Velumani, Shanmugam, Natham R Viswanathan and C from various party posts.
Meanwhile, AIADMK cadres started arriving at Palaniswami’s residence here this morning to extend their support.
According to AIADMK sources, Palaniswami is expected to chair a meeting with his party members and senior leaders to discuss the future course of action.
A senior AIADMK leader said party counsel IS Inbadurai is also expected to meet Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar to file a formal complaint seeking disqualification of the rebel MLAs.
