Tamil Nadu Assembly: Churning in AIADMK becomes evident with split over Leader of Legislature Party post

The churning in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was on Monday (May 11, 2026) evident in the Assembly, going by the reception provided by the party legislators to the party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the rebel leader S.P. Velumani, in the House.

Unlike on previous occasions in the last five years when Mr. Palaniswami was accompanied by a large contingent of his colleagues while entering the Assembly premises, only a handful of MLAs had escorted him this time. Mr. Velumani, who served as Local Administration Minister in the Palaniswami Cabinet and seen invariably with the former in the past, came later to the Assembly premises along with former Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.

Likewise, when the turn came for the former Chief Minister and Mr. Velumani to be sworn in as the MLAs, the reception given to them by their colleagues, in the form of thumping of desks, was barely different from each other. The message was clear: the challenge to Mr. Palaniswami’s leadership was quite open.

In the last four days, the residence of former Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam on Karpagam Avenue, near Foreshore Estate, became the centre of activity among dissidents in the AIADMK wherein a large number of MLAs and other office bearers were involved in discussions on chalking out their future course of action. Mr Shanmugam, who did not attend the oath taking event in the morning, went to the Assembly around 3.15 p.m. and was sworn in as an MLA.

Letters in support of EPS, Velumani

After the swearing in of all the legislators was over, a letter, purportedly signed by a group of legislators of the AIADMK stating that Mr. Palaniswami had been elected the Leader of the Legislature Party, was submitted to the Pro-tem Speaker M.V. Karuppaiah at his chamber. Of the total of 47 MLAs belonging to the AIADMK, the number of legislators cited by certain sections of the media in support of the general secretary was 17, but a member of the Palaniswami camp claimed it was 24. Former Handlooms Minister, O.S. Manian, who handed over the letter to the Pro-tem Speaker, told The Hindu that he was not aware of the contents of the letter. “I did what I was asked to do,” he observed.

Around 6 p.m., Mr. Shanmugam, accompanied by Mr. Velumani and many other former Ministers including Natham R. Viswanathan and R. Kamaraj, came to the office of the Pro-tem Speaker and presented a letter, claiming the support of 30 MLAs for the leadership of Mr. Velumani. 

Earlier in the day, Mr. Palaniswami refuted a suggestion of journalists that the party was heading towards a split.

About two years ago, when the party had suffered a drubbing in the Lok Sabha election, a delegation of six leaders including Mr. Shanmugam, Mr. Velumani and Mr. Viswanathan had sought to impress upon Mr. Palaniswami that there should be reconciliation with former party leaders including V.K. Sasikala.