Tvk Vijay: AIADMK vs AIADMK: How support to Vijay’s TVK has ‘split’ Amma’s party again | India News

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu is witnessing another AIADMK vs AIADMK showdown as Vijay gears up for a floor test A few days after taking oath as Chief Minister.Hours after a party led by CV Shanmugam announced its decision to support TV, AIADMK leader Agri SS Krishnamurthy warned rebel MLAs that action would be taken against those who act against the party’s directives.“The AIADMK has instructed all its MLAs to vote against TVK in the Tamil Nadu Assembly floor test tomorrow. Action will be taken against any MLA who acts against the party’s instructions,” Krishnamoorthy said.Former minister and Edappadi K Palaniswami Associate OS Manian also weighed in, saying that all 47 AIADMK MLAs supported EPS as leader of the legislative party.“All 47 AIADMK MLAs have extended their support to Edappadi K Palaniswami as the leader of the legislative party. Letters of support from these MLAs have been submitted to Speaker JC D Prabhakar,” he said.Earlier in the day, a faction of AIADMK led by MLAs SP Velumani and Shanmugam announced support to 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 have formed this party against the DMK. For 53 years, our politics has centered on opposition to the DMK. A resolution was floated suggesting the formation of an AIADMK government with the support of the DMK. However, most of our members rejected it,” Shanmugam said.Around 30 MLAs, including two senior leaders, are believed to be in the camp that opposed Palaniswami’s leadership after the party’s defeat.However, Velumoni insisted that the move did not amount to a split.“This is not a breakup of the AIADMK, but we will wait for the general secretary’s ‘right’ decision to take the party forward,” he said.He also alleged that AIADMK general secretary Palaniswami is interested in forming the government with the support of DMK.“We opposed this decision as the AIADMK was formed only to defeat the DM,” he said.The internal rift came to light earlier when a group of AIADMK MLAs led by Shanmugam submitted a letter to Protem Speaker MV Karupaiah to appoint Velumani as the leader of the legislative party.Some MLAs also reportedly demanded Palaniswami’s resignation due to the party’s poor performance in the polls.AIADMK contested 167 out of 234 seats but won only 47 seats. After the results, Palaniswami held a series of meetings with party MLAs, but several senior leaders and former ministers, including Shanmugam and Velumani, stayed away.