AIADMK hit by fresh crisis as 3 MLAs quit party to join Vijay's TVK

Chennai: In a major political setback for the AIADMK, three rebel party MLAs resigned from the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday and are set to join the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.

The legislators — Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama and S Jayakumar — met Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar at the Secretariat and submitted their resignations, which were later accepted.

Kumaravel represented Maduranthakam, Sathyabama Dharapuram and Jayakumar Perundurai, all elected on AIADMK tickets.

Soon after meeting the Speaker, the trio called on senior TVK leader and Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna, signalling their imminent entry into the ruling party.

The three MLAs were among the 25 legislators from the rebel camp led by senior AIADMK leaders C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani who had voted in support of the TVK government during the May 13 floor test, defying the party leadership.

However, in a parallel development, five MLAs from the Shanmugam-Velumani faction returned to the camp of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, boosting his support in the Assembly to 27 MLAs.

The legislators who rejoined the EPS camp included S M Sukumar (Arcot), P Haribaskar (Anthiyur), Dilipan Jaishankar (Sankarankoil), N S N Natarajan (Kangayam) and K Mohan (Panrutti).

With the resignation of three MLAs and the return of five others to the Palaniswami faction, the strength of the rebel camp has now fallen to 17 from 25.

The resignations will also trigger byelections in four Assembly constituencies, including Tiruchirappalli East, vacated earlier by Vijay.

Speaker Prabhakar said the resignations were accepted as they were submitted in the prescribed format and fulfilled procedural requirements. “There is no need to mention the reason to step down,” he told reporters.

The political developments come barely three weeks after the Assembly election results were declared, exposing deep divisions within the AIADMK. The DMK-led opposition has also faced turbulence, with allies such as Congress, VCK and IUML extending support to the TVK government, while Left parties have backed the Vijay-led administration from outside.

AIADMK MP and party Advocates Wing secretary IS Inbadurai accused TVK of “horse-trading,” alleging that the resignations and induction process were carried out in haste.

DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson also criticised the development, alleging that the MLAs resigned and joined TVK to evade the anti-defection law.

He further accused the ruling party of misusing government premises for political activities and said fresh byelections would impose an unnecessary financial burden on the public.