Published May 12, 2026 | 9:51 AM ⚊ Updated May 12, 2026 | 9:51 AM
An AIADMK faction led by CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani extends support to Vijay and TVK.
Synopsis: An AIADMK faction announced that the party wholeheartedly welcomes the people’s mandate for C Joseph Vijay to become the state’s chief minister. They also announced that a resolution had been passed declaring that the AIADMK no longer has any alliance and that the faction had decided to support the government led by the TVK.
A faction led by CV Shanmugam and SP Velumani said on Tuesday, 12 May, that the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu wholeheartedly welcomes the people’s mandate for C Joseph Vijay to become the state’s chief minister.
Addressing reporters, the faction claimed that after the election results, the party’s General Secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami, proposed that a government could be formed with the support of the DMK. Palaniswami reportedly said the DMK was willing to accept him as the chief minister.
However, they alleged that none of the MLA-elects agreed to the proposal because the AIADMK was founded as a movement opposing the DMK.
“We have been doing politics against the DMK for three generations. We rejected the proposal as unacceptable, but they did not agree to accept our stand,” they said.
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The faction further stated that a majority of AIADMK MLA-elects later convened for a meeting, where they acknowledged the party’s “massive defeat” in the election as part of the NDA.
They also announced that a resolution had been passed declaring that the AIADMK no longer has any alliance and that the faction had decided to support the government led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
“We have also elected the party’s headquarters secretary and former minister, SP Velumani, as the Legislature Party Leader. C Vijayabaskar has been elected as the party whip. MLA Hari has been chosen as the deputy leader, while former minister Kamaraj has been appointed as the secretary of the legislature party,” they said.
“We have not split the party, and no one should spread such defamatory allegations. We have only urged the General Secretary to convene the general council meeting at the earliest so that a healthy discussion can take place and a proper decision can be made,” the faction added.
The AIADMK won 47 seats in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, as opposed to TVK’s 108.
Vijay took oath as the chief minister on 10 May with the support of 120 MLAs, after the Congress with five elected members, and the CPI, CPI(M), IUML and VCK — all four having two MLAs each — supporting the nascent party.
(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose.)
