AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami has removed several senior leaders after 24 party MLAs defied the whip and backed Chief Minister Vijay in the Assembly floor test.
BY PC Bureau
May 13, 2026: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Tuesday removed senior leaders including C.V. Shanmugam, S.P. Velumani and C. Vijayabaskar from key party posts after 24 AIADMK MLAs defied the party whip and voted in support of Chief Minister Vijay during the Tamil Nadu Assembly floor test. The dramatic cross-voting has plunged the opposition party into a major internal crisis, with the rebel faction refusing to back down and challenging the legality of the whip itself.
The AIADMK also moved to disqualify the rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law, alleging they violated the party directive issued ahead of the confidence vote. Senior party leaders, addressing a press conference in Chennai, said a formal complaint seeking the legislators’ disqualification had already been submitted to the Speaker.
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Vijay comfortably won the floor test with 144 votes in favour of his TVK government, while 22 MLAs voted against the motion and five abstained. The DMK legislators, led by M.K. Stalin, walked out before the vote.
“Since around 25 members acted against the whip, they are liable for disqualification under the anti-defection law,” AIADMK leaders said, adding that disciplinary action had also been initiated against several senior functionaries accused of backing the rebellion.
Why is CVS asking the standing next to him to tell this?
They should have thought abokt this before voting for TVK which was against the parties policy.
They never ever thought in their dreams EPS would take such a call.
All back stabbers now on the other side. Job made… pic.twitter.com/Ed9n9bSLl9
— Vasanth Lakshman (@VasanthLakshman) May 13, 2026
However, the dissident camp rejected the charges and argued that the whip itself was invalid because newly elected AIADMK MLAs were never consulted before its appointment. Rebel leader C.V. Shanmugam claimed the party leadership had bypassed established legislative procedures.
“EPS cannot appoint the whip directly. Newly elected MLAs should have been convened to elect the Legislature Party leader, deputy leader and whip. Since that process was not followed, the whip has no legal standing,” Shanmugam said.
EPS had appointed Agri Krishnamurthy as the party whip, but the rebels argued that the appointment also required recognition by the newly elected Speaker.
The dispute is now expected to trigger a prolonged legal and political battle, with both factions staking claim to control of the AIADMK legislature party. Party insiders indicated that the matter could ultimately reach the courts, especially given recent Supreme Court observations in the Maharashtra Shiv Sena split case regarding the legality of whip appointments and disqualification proceedings.
In the Maharashtra ruling, the Supreme Court had held that the appointment of a legislative whip by the recognised political party was central to the anti-defection framework under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The court had also ruled that the Speaker must examine rival claims carefully before acting on disqualification petitions in cases involving party splits.
With both AIADMK factions now writing separately to the Speaker and demanding recognition, the political uncertainty within the party is likely to intensify in the coming days.
