Three AIADMK rebel MLAs resign, set to join TVK
CHENNAI, 25 MAY AIADMK suffered another blow on Monday when three of its party legislators belonging to the rebel group led by senior leaders C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani resigned and are set to join the ruling TVK, prompting “horse-trading” charges from the opposition DMK and AIADMK.
AIADMK Chief Edappadi K Palaniswami lashed out at the “fraud jobs” of the TVK government and said such things were new to Tamil Nadu politics. He called the resignation episode a “pre-planned conspiracy.” The development comes weeks after the AIADMK lost the April 23 polls, the fourth major drubbing since 2019, its MLAs split into two groups, each supporting party general secretary Palaniswami and the Shanmugam-Velumani duo.
The two camps took divergent positions on the TVK government’s floor test, with the Palaniswami faction voting against it and the 25-member group on the other side backing the Vijay-led government. >>MORE ON PAGE 2