The AIADMK is on the brink of a split after actor-turned-politician Vijay's spectacular rise to power exposed deep divisions within the party. Just days after Vijay was sworn in as chief minister, a major faction within the AIADMK publicly extended support to his government, revealing a widening chasm between rival camps.
A faction led by senior AIADMK leaders CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani announced support for the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government, claiming that a majority of the party's 47 MLAs were backing them, not party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
The turmoil follows AIADMK's crushing defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly election, where the party won only 47 seats, its poorest performance since the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016.
Vijay's TVK stunned political observers by emerging as the single-largest party with 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, intensifying calls within AIADMK for a leadership change.
As the rebellion against EPS gains momentum, reports suggest that as many as 28 AIADMK MLAs held a closed-door meeting in Chennai urging the party leadership to support the Vijay-led government.
The crisis has also sparked speculation about a possible understanding between the AIADMK and the rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to prevent Vijay from forming the government.
With EPS under pressure, the party's future hangs in the balance as the widening divide between rival camps threatens to tear the AIADMK apart.
