A leadership crisis appears to be looming again in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Following the party’s rout in the Assembly elections, 30 AIADMK MLAs submitted a letter of support at the Secretariat on May 11 to declare SP Velumani as the Legislature Party Leader.
Only 17 MLAs, in contrast, submitted a similar letter on behalf of party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.
The AIADMK has been reduced to 47 seats in the Assembly from 66. The party is also divided over extending support to CM C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). Vijay is yet to prove his majority on the House floor. The floor test is expected to take place later this week.
Signs of the split were reportedly visible earlier in the day as the two factions arrived separately for the swearing-in ceremony. Calls for EPS to step down as party chief are rising within the AIADMK, reports say.
The brewing rift may remind many of the long power struggle in the AIADMK after the demise of former CM J Jayalalithaa in 2016. The party is also seen to be on a decline. With the TVK winning 108 seats and the DMK’s 59 seats, the AIADMK came third despite clear anti-incumbency.
Notably, the TVK’s performance eventually triggered a split in the INDA bloc as well. The Congress walked out of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in the state to extend support to Vijay. In turn, the DMK signalled that it is no longer a part of the INDIA bloc.
On May 7 the party’s deputy general secretary K Kanimozhi wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla requesting seat changes for DMK MPs who had until then been sitting with Congress MPs.