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The rift in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) seems to be widening. Senior leader C Ve Shanmugam made a surprising statement to the press on Tuesday, May 12: “We are not in alliance with any party except the TVK [Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam].” When asked about Edappadi K Palaniswami, he simply replied, “He’s our general secretary.”
Shanmugam’s statement comes at a time of open rebellion against EPS and anger at the AIADMK’s routing. The party has been reduced to 47 seats in the Assembly from 66 in 2021. C Ve Shanmugam said many MLAs are also vexed following talks of AIADMK taking the DMK’s outside support to form the government.
Earlier in the day, Shanmugam announced that the AIADMK would extend support to the TVK and that SP Velumani has been elected as the AIADMK’s floor leader. Newly sworn-in Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is expected to prove his majority on the House floor on May 13.
Shanmugham and Velumani claim they have the support of 24 MLAs, which means another 23 MLAs are with party president EPS.
Shanmugam said, “AIADMK was founded to uproot the DMK, which we consider an evil force in Tamil Nadu. That was the foremost aim of AIADMK, founded by Dr MGR and later protected and strengthened by Amma.”
He added that any proposal to align with the DMK goes against their “basic principles” and that such an alliance could “wipe out the AIADMK in the future”.
Shanmugam further said that the public’s mandate is for the TVK and especially for Vijay.
These developments come a day after 30 AIADMK MLAs submitted a letter to pro tem Speaker MV Karuppiah seeking to appoint senior leader SP Velumani as the Legislature Party Leader. Only 17 MLAs submitted a similar letter on behalf of EPS. But from then, the number of MLAs with C Ve Shanmugham seems to have reduced to 24 and both sides indulge in hectic parleys.
Meanwhile, Velumani has called for an immediate meeting of the party’s general council as tension over leadership intensified.