Chennai: In a fresh political development that could reshape Tamil Nadu’s post-election landscape, three AIADMK MLAs, Madurantakam MLA Maragatham Kumaravel, Dharapuram MLA Sathyabama, and Perundurai MLA Jayakumar, resigned from the Assembly Monday and later joined the ruling TVK.
The resignations have intensified speculation about further defections and the possibility of multiple Assembly by-elections in the state.
The three legislators, considered close to the AIADMK faction led by former ministers C.V. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani, submitted their resignation letters to Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar.
Soon after handing over their resignation letters, the MLAs reportedly met Minister Aadhav Arjuna and formally joined the TVK.
The development comes amid continuing political shifts in Tamil Nadu following the Assembly election results, which have kept the state’s political arena active and uncertain. The TVK, led by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, had contested 233 constituencies and initially secured 107 seats after Vijay vacated the Tiruchy East constituency.
However, the party fell short of the majority mark of 118 seats required to form the government and subsequently sought support from parties in the DMK-led alliance.
Following negotiations, the Congress aligned with the TVK and was accommodated in the government with two ministerial berths. Other parties, including the VCK and the IUML, also became part of the TVK-led government, while the CPI and the CPI-M extended unconditional support from outside the government.
At the same time, around 25 AIADMK MLAs aligned with the faction led by C.V. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani had adopted a favourable stance towards the TVK government, triggering speculation about a possible split within the AIADMK. However, the Velumani faction was eventually not accommodated in the cabinet.
Reports later suggested that reconciliation efforts had begun between the faction and AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami. With Vijay having already vacated the Tiruchy East seat, the resignations of the three MLAs are expected to increase the number of vacant Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu to four.
Political observers are now closely watching whether more MLAs from the Velumani-Shanmugam camp may take a similar path in the coming days.
