A group of AIADMK leaders has decided to support TVK. The meeting is being scheduled between the two parties today.
AIADMK has split into two groups, formed after a series of electoral failures and a major disagreement over which party to support in the 2026 election.
Reason Behind The Split
As the party AIADMK has faced a fourth consecutive electoral failure, securing just 47 seats, many MLAs have felt that, under the leadership of Edappadi K. Palanisamy (EPS), the party has lost its winning streak and relevance.
The most controversial statement from one of the groups is that C.V Shanmugam and S.P Velumani have told, that the Leader and ex-chief of AIADMK EPS, have made an alliance with their long-time enemy DMK to refrain Vijay of TVK from becoming CM, to which Shanmugam said it is a "betrayal" of the party's founding principles, which were built specifically to oppose DMK.
The group led by C.V. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani comprises 30 of the party's 47 MLAs. It is known as the rebel group because it has publicly challenged its official Leader, EPS, and is acting against his orders. They have also chosen their own Leader, S.P. Velumani.
By backing 30 out of 47 MLAs, this has left EPS with just 17 MLAs. The rebels sat apart during the oath ceremony in the assembly to show they are no longer under EPS's control.
The Rebel Group Leaders
This group has chosen C.V. Shanmugam as its Primary Spokesperson, Political Face, and Chief Strategist; S.P. Velumani as its Leader; and C. Vijayabhaskar as its Party's Whip.
A party's whip is a senior member of the political party responsible for issuing whips, also called directives. These directives tell MLAs exactly how they must vote on specific issues or during a trust vote.
The whip must ensure that all the MLAs are present in the house during the crucial session.
The faction has officially stated that they respect the people's mandate and that they saw Vijay's TVK emerge as the single-largest party, winning 108 seats in the election.
Shanmugam has said that the people have clearly voted for Vijay to be the state's chief minister, and supporting him is a way of honouring their choice.
The rebels acknowledged AIADMK's poor performance, with 47 seats in this election, and said they wanted to be on the winning side, not the losing one.
The EPS faction has asked the rebel groups to cut ties with the BJP, as they are extending theri support to TVK. The rebel groups have officially confirmed they have cut ties with the BJP.
On May 12, 2026, from 09:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., the rebel group arrived at the Secretariat, held a press conference, and publicly declared their support for TVK.
At 02:00 p.m., a meeting has been scheduled between TVK and the rebel AIADMK group to finalise their partnership. This timing is very important as it occurs just one day before the floor test.
The EPS faction, also known as the loyalist group, is led by Edappadi. K. Palanisamy as their party's General Secretary, K. Munusamy as the party's senior Leader and Deputy General Secretary, and Thalavai Sundaram as the Party's Whip.
