Crisis in AIADMK after Tamil Nadu polls, Shanmugam-led faction wants EPS to quit

A section of AIADMK MLAs, backed by senior party leader CV Shanmugam, has asked party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami to quit due to repeated electoral defeats, sources said. The AIADMK managed to win only 47 of 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.

In Short

• Section of AIADMK MLAs demanded EPS quit after rout in Tamil Nadu polls
• AIADMK sources said morale of party workers down after electoral setback
• Earlier, 30 AIADMK MLAs from CV Shanmugam faction wanted to ally with TVK

Fresh signs of unrest have emerged within the AIADMK following the party’s rout in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, with a section of MLAs and former ministers demanding that party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami step down, sources said. However, sources added that EPS is unwilling to resign despite mounting pressure from sections of the party.

According to top AIADMK sources, MLAs aligned with senior party leader CV Shanmugam, along with several former ministers, have conveyed to EPS that they are unwilling to accept his leadership any longer after four successive electoral defeats.

The AIADMK managed to win only 47 of 234 seats in the April 23 Assembly polls. In the 2021 election, the party was ousted from power by the DMK-led alliance after a decade, securing only 75 seats. It won only one of 39 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and drew a blank in the 2024 parliamentary election.

Sources said the repeated electoral setbacks have badly hit morale within the AIADMK workers and intensified internal anger over the leadership’s political strategy. The growing divide between the EPS camp and leaders aligned with Shanmugam has fuelled fears of a possible split within the AIADMK, they added.

Earlier, there was a growing buzz that the Shanmugam-led faction could ally with actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which was, at that time, getting the required numbers to form the government.

The TVK made a stunning debut in the Assembly polls, winning 108 seats, but fell 10 short of a majority. After days of hectic parleys with CPI, CPI (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), TVK managed to cross the majority mark. Following this, Vijay took oath as the Chief Minister at a star-studded event on Sunday.

As TVK was engaged in getting past the majority mark, over 30 MLAs, including Shanmugam, camped at a resort in Puducherry last week amid a growing buzz of a tie-up with the Vijay-led party. EPS later went to the resort in a bid to keep his flock united.

There were also reports that the DMK had opened backchannel talks with the AIADMK, a move that had reportedly left Shanmugam upset and prompted him to decide on joining hands with the TVK-led government.

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