Three AIADMK rebel MLAs resign, set to join TVK

Three AIADMK legislators have resigned and are set to join the ruling TVK party, following a meeting with the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker and senior TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna.

Three AIADMK legislators who were part of the rebel group led by senior leaders C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani, met Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar on Monday and tendered their resignation and are set to join the ruling TVK.

Soon after meeting the Speaker, the three legislators--Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama and S Jayakumar, met senior TVK leader and PWD minister Aadhav Arjuna, giving ample indications of joining the ruling party.

The Speaker accepted the resignation of the three legislators -- Kumaravel, who won from Maduranthakam, Sathyabama from Dharapuram, and Jayakumar, who got elected from Perundurai Assembly constituency -- on AIADMK tickets.

Meanwhile, five MLAs from the Shanmugam-Velumani camp went back to party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.

When reporters sought his response over the developments, Shanmugam only said ''we will talk later.''.

The three AIADMK MLAs called on the Speaker at the Secretariat here and submitted their resignations. Dharapuram (Tiruppur) and Perundurai (Erode) are part of AIADMK's traditional stronghold, the 'kongu' region in western Tamil Nadu. Maduranthakam is located near Chennai.

Shortly thereafter, they met Aadhav Arjuna at his chamber. They are likely to join the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

The three were among the 25 legislators who voted in support of the TVK government during the May 13 floor test, defying the party diktat.

Meanwhile, the five AIADMK MLAs who had been in the Shanmugam-Velumani camp, shifted their allegiance back to party chief Palaniswami. With this, the number of Palaniswami-supporting MLAs in the Assembly has risen to 27. The legislators who left the Velumani camp included S M Sukumar (Arcot).

With three resignations and five MLAs going back to the Palaniswami camp, the strength of the rebel side has now reduced to 17, from 25.

With the Speaker accepting the resignations, Tamil Nadu will witness byelections to four Assembly constituencies including the Tiruchirappalli East vacated by Vijay.

Speaker Prabhakar told reporters that the three AIADMK MLAs' resignation was accepted since they were in proper format, as per laid down procedures. ''There is no need to mention the reason to step down,'' he said in a response to a question.

The resignation and split in the AIADMK has come within 21 days of declaration of Assembly election results. Post poll, this is a major jolt for the AIADMK. The DMK too has suffered a setback with its allies the Congress, VCK and IUML joining the TVK government and the Left parties extending their support to the Vijay-led dispensation.

Amidst a speculation of a rapprochement between the AIADMK factions, five legislators who had supported Shanmugam, called on Palaniswami at his Greenways Road residence here and merged themselves with the party.

Later, the group met Prabhakar and submitted a letter stating that they would function under the leadership of Palaniswami.

''We gave a letter to our general secretary expressing regrets over some mistakes during the floor test in the Assembly. We said all five of us will function under his leadership and returned to the AIADMK,'' Sukumar said.

The five had handed over a copy of the letter to the Speaker, Sukumar told reporters here.

The other MLAs are-- P Haribaskar from Anthiyur, Dilipan Jaishankar from Sankarankoil, N S N Natarajan from Kangayam, and K Mohan from Panrutti.

Meanwhile, AIADMK MP and the party's Advocates Wing Secretary, IS Inbadurai, called the resignation of the three MLAs and their ''having joined'' TVK as ''horse-trading.''.

Everything, ''including giving them TVK membership cards,'' happened in a hurry and haste, he said in a post on 'X.'.

The DMK also hit out at the TVK.

''Within 21 days, three elected MLAs charged with defection resigned and immediately joined the TVK party at the Secretariat premises to evade the anti-defection law. It is highly condemnable that the Government Secretariat premises and chambers have become places to join a political party, and all ethics and conduct have been cast aside,'' DMK Rajya Sabha member P Wilson said.

''Elections are now being forcibly imposed on the people of these three constituencies for personal political gain, and a significant amount of public money and time is likely to be wasted on another by-election, which normally must be held within six months,'' he said in the social media post.