Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu is witnessing another AIADMK vs AIADMK showdown as Vijay prepares for a floor test days after being sworn in as chief minister.Hours after a faction led by CV Shanmugam announced its decision to support TVK, AIADMK leader Agri SS Krishnamurthy warned rebel MLAs, stating that action would be taken against those acting against the party directive.“AIADMK has directed all its MLAs to vote against TVK in the Tamil Nadu assembly floor test tomorrow. Action will be taken against those MLAs who act against the party’s directive,” Krishnamurthy said.
Former minister and Edappadi K Palaniswami associate OS Manian also weighed in, saying all 47 AIADMK MLAs had extended support to EPS as legislature party leader.“All 47 AIADMK MLAs have extended support to Edappadi K Palaniswami as legislature party leader. The letter of support from these MLAs has been submitted to Speaker JC D Prabhakar,” he said.Earlier in the day, a faction of the AIADMK, led by MLAs SP Velumani and Shanmugam, announced its support for the Vijay government.After a meeting with senior party leaders and MLAs, Shanmugam said he would meet chief minister Vijay and hand over a letter extending support to his government.“We founded this party against the DMK. For 53 years, our politics have been centred around opposing the DMK. A proposal was put forward suggesting an AIADMK government be formed with DMK support. However, the majority of our members rejected it,” Shanmugam said.About 30 MLAs, including the two senior leaders are believed to be in the camp that has been opposed to Palaniswami’s leadership following the party’s debacle.However, Velumani insisted the move did not amount to a split.“This is not a breakup of AIADMK, but we will await the general secretary’s ‘right’ decision to take the party forward,” he said.He also alleged that AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami was keen to form a government with DMK support.“We opposed that decision since AIADMK was formed only to defeat the DMK,” he said.The internal rift surfaced earlier when a group of AIADMK MLAs led by Shanmugam submitted a letter to pro tem Speaker MV Karuppaiah seeking Velumani’s appointment as legislature party leader.Some MLAs had also reportedly demanded Palaniswami’s resignation following the party’s poor performance in the polls.AIADMK contested 167 of the 234 constituencies but won just 47 seats. Following the results, Palaniswami held a series of meetings with party MLAs, but several senior leaders and former ministers, including Shanmugam and Velumani, stayed away.
