Rival factions of the AIADMK reconcile two weeks after the Legislative Party split

SP Velumani, along with other rebel MLAs, addressed the media after submitting a memorandum to the Chief Secretariat in Chennai on Thursday | Photo credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Almost two weeks after the vertical split of the AIADMK legislature party, rival factions — one led by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the other by former minister SP Velumani — buried the hatchet and reached a truce on Wednesday (May 27, 2026).

The rebel MLAs, led by Mr. Velumani, also submitted letters to Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar at the Secretariat seeking recognition of their voting behavior in defiance of the directive issued by Agri party whip SS Krishnamurthy during Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s vote of confidence in the May-led government in the Assembly on 13.

Speaking to reporters, the Speaker confirmed receipt of letters from AIADMK MLAs. He said he would go through the earlier petitions as well as the petitions filed on Wednesday and announce his decision on Thursday (May 28).

AIADMK leader C. Vijayabaskar resigns as MLA

Speaking to reporters after meeting Mr. Prabhakar, Mr. Velumani said that both factions had withdrawn previous petitions submitted separately to the Speaker seeking disqualification of legislators from the other group.

SP Velumani and other MLAs send letters to JCD Speaker Prabhakar | Photo credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

The formation of a crack

It all started with the vertical split of the AIADMK legislature party during the trust vote in the assembly on 13 May. A group of 25 rebel legislators led by Mr. Velumani voted in favor of the confidence motion, while 22 MLAs led by Mr. Palaniswami voted against it.

After the split, both factions submitted petitions to the Speaker seeking disqualification of the MLAs of the other group. Meanwhile, on May 25, three MLAs from Mr. Velumani’s faction — Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai) and P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram) — resigned as MLAs and later joined the ruling TVK.

On the same day, five other rebel MLAs — SM Sukumar (Arcot), P. Hari Bhaskar (Anthiyur), K. Mohan (Panruti), Dileepan Jaishankar (Sankarankoil) and NSN Nataraj (Kangayam) — switched their loyalties to Mr. Palaniswami’s party.

The next day, another rebel MLA Esakki Subaya resigned as MLA and later joined the TVK, while P. Balakrishna Reddy (Hosur) extended support to Mr. Palaniswami. With this series of resignations and changes of sides, the strength of the rebel camp was reduced from 25 to 15. On Wednesday, the two factions reached a truce. Apart from senior functionary C.Ve. Shanmugame, all the rebel MLAs have met the Speaker.

“The Only Difference of Opinion”

Mr. Velumani said, “There was no division or split between us. We just had some differences of opinion. We urged the general secretary (Mr. Palaniswami) to set up a committee to look into the electoral defeats the party was facing. He said he would deal with it step by step.”

The former minister also said that there are various claims that 25 AIADMK MLAs voted for the TVK government in exchange for ministerial berths and other posts. “We did not ask for any contributions. They (TVK) also made it clear that there was no such arrangement.” Asked about Mr Shanmugam not joining them during their meeting with the Speaker, Mr Velumani said: “He is also with all of us.”

Most of the rebel MLAs met the EPS at his residence on Wednesday | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Earlier in the day, most of the rebel MLAs, including Mr. Velumani, called on Mr. Palaniswami at his residence in Chennai. However, Mr. Shanmugam and C. Vijayabaskar did not accompany them.

Published – 27 May 2026 17:42 IST