Heavy security at AIADMK headquarters in Chennai following internal split

The party is currently facing a significant internal rift, with one faction led by its general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and a dissident group.

The AIADMK headquarters here came under heavy police security on Thursday following the widening rift in the party.

AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami during the floor test proceedings to prove the strength of the C Joseph Vijay-led TVK government, at Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in Chennai. (PTI)

Additional police personnel were deployed as a precautionary measure to prevent a recurrence of the violent clashes that erupted between rival factions in 2022. The violence had led to the premises being ransacked.

The party is currently facing a significant internal rift, with one faction led by its general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and a dissident group headed by C Ve Shanugm and S P Velumani.

The divide became evident after the floor test held in the Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday. The ruling TVK saw its tally rise to 144 in the 234-member House after 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs aligned with the Velumani-Shanmugam camp cross-voted in its favour.

Subsequently, Palaniswami removed the 25 MLAs, which include Velumani, Shanmugam, Natham R Viswanathan, and C from various party posts.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK cadres have begun arriving at Palaniswami's residence here this morning to extend their support.

According to AIADMK sources, Palaniswami is expected to chair a meeting with his party MLAs and senior leaders to discuss the future course of action.

A senior AIADMK leader said the party's advocate I S Inbadurai is also expected to meet the assembly speaker JCD Prabhakar to submit a formal complaint seeking the disqualification of the rebel MLAs.