Tamil Nadu CM Vijay meets AIADMK 'rebel' leaders backing TVK chief ahead of crucial floor test
The significance of the meeting was hard to miss. The Velumani-Shanmugam camp commands the backing of 30 of the AIADMK's 47 MLAs, and their support on the floor of the house on Wednesday could prove decisive in consolidating Vijay's majority beyond any doubt.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsTamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has been moving quickly since taking oath, and Tuesday was no exception. With a crucial floor test scheduled for Wednesday, Vijay paid visits to rebel AIADMK leaders, the Indian Union Muslim League and former Chief Minister MK Stalin, a day of political courtesy calls that carried considerable strategic weight.
The most closely watched meeting was at a local AIADMK party office in Chennai, where Vijay, dressed in his signature blue suit and white shirt, sat down with SP Velumani and CV Shanmugam, the two leaders who broke from AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami to back his government. They greeted him with flower bouquets and felicitated him with stoles. Several other AIADMK legislators were present and interacted with the new Chief Minister during the visit.
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The significance of the meeting was hard to miss. The Velumani-Shanmugam camp commands the backing of 30 of the AIADMK's 47 MLAs, and their support on the floor of the house on Wednesday could prove decisive in consolidating Vijay's majority beyond any doubt.
How Numbers Stack Up
TVK won 108 of Tamil Nadu's 234 assembly seats in the April 23 elections, a stunning debut for a party that was only founded in 2024. But ten seats short of the majority mark, Vijay had to navigate weeks of complex coalition negotiations before being sworn in as the state's 13th Chief Minister at a ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Also read: How under Palaniswami, AIADMK is writing the story of its own collapse | Analysis
He has since secured support from Congress, the CPI, CPI(M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the IUML. On Saturday, the IUML extended its unconditional support, taking the total tally of MLAs backing TVK to 121, three seats above the majority mark. Congress brings five MLAs, while the CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML contribute two each.
Vijay also met IUML chief KM Kader Mohideen on Tuesday and received his felicitations following the party's formal declaration of support.
The AIADMK Rift That Made It Possible
The rebel AIADMK faction's decision to back TVK was not without turbulence. When Shanmugam and Velumani first announced their support for Vijay, Palaniswami made clear he did not approve. The disagreement exposed a fault line that had been building across four consecutive electoral defeats, in 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2026. Thirty MLAs sided with the rebel camp. Palaniswami was left with seventeen.
The split opened questions about the AIADMK's future as a unified party, with the two-leaves symbol almost certainly heading back to the courts. For now, however, those questions are secondary to the more immediate business of Wednesday's floor test.
Courtesy Calls And Coalition Building
Beyond the AIADMK and IUML meetings, Vijay also called on former Chief Minister MK Stalin at his Chennai residence on Monday, his first interaction with senior DMK leadership since taking oath. He also met Stalin's son, former Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, during the visit. The gesture was widely read as an attempt to maintain a working relationship with the DMK, even as both parties occupy opposing sides of Tamil Nadu's political divide.
Vijay additionally visited the residence of Naam Tamilar Katchi chief Senthamizhan Seeman, draping a golden shawl over him, offering a bouquet and receiving his felicitations. The meeting carried no immediate political implications but reflected Vijay's broader effort to introduce himself to Tamil Nadu's political establishment on his own terms.
On his first day in office, Vijay ordered the closure of 717 government-run TASMAC liquor retail outlets located within 500 metres of places of worship, educational institutions and bus stations, to be completed within two weeks. The order followed a survey of all TASMAC shops conducted immediately after he assumed office. He also resigned from the Tiruchirappalli East seat, retaining his Perambur constituency as required under constitutional rules.
(With ANI inputs)