Tamil Nadu politics took another dramatic turn on Tuesday after a powerful faction of the AIADMK, led by senior leaders SP Velumani and CV Shanmugam, formally extended support to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government, deepening the crisis within the opposition party and strengthening Vijay’s fragile hold on power.
The move comes barely days after actor-turned-politician Vijay stitched together a razor-thin majority despite his party emerging as the single largest force with 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly — still 10 short of the halfway mark.
Initially, Vijay crossed the majority line with outside support from the Congress, Left parties, IUML and VCK — all traditional allies of the DMK. That arrangement had left political observers wondering whether the survival of the TVK government would ultimately depend on the goodwill of M. K. Stalin.
Now, the rebellion inside All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam may have handed Vijay an unexpected insurance policy.
“AIADMK Was Founded Against DMK”
Addressing reporters, C. V. Shanmugam launched a direct attack on party chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami, accusing sections within the AIADMK of even considering support from the DMK to block Vijay from forming the government.
“For 53 years our politics has been against the DMK. If AIADMK formed a government with DMK support, the party itself would cease to exist,” Shanmugam said.
The faction declared support for Vijay’s government while insisting it did not intend to split the AIADMK formally — a crucial distinction because an official split could trigger anti-defection proceedings.
Vijay’s Numbers Suddenly Look Safer
Before the AIADMK revolt, Vijay’s government depended heavily on outside support from parties still politically aligned with Stalin’s DMK. That had fuelled speculation that the DMK could indirectly influence or destabilise the new government whenever required.
With around 30 AIADMK MLAs reportedly sympathetic to the Shanmugam-Velumani bloc, TVK’s effective support could jump to nearly 150 MLAs during the floor test, dramatically improving Vijay’s stability.
The rebellion also weakens EPS politically after AIADMK’s disappointing election performance and raises questions about whether he can continue holding the party together.
BJP Alliance Also Under Question
In another significant development, Shanmugam declared that the AIADMK’s revived alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party was effectively over.
That statement is politically important because Vijay had repeatedly refused any alliance involving the BJP, calling it his ideological opponent. If the anti-EPS faction consolidates, it could pave the way for a long-term TVK-AIADMK understanding without the BJP in the picture.
Stalin Still Looms Large
Even after becoming Chief Minister, Vijay moved cautiously. His first major political visit after taking oath was to Stalin’s residence — an extraordinary gesture in Tamil Nadu politics and widely interpreted as an acknowledgment of political realities.
For now, Vijay appears to be balancing three forces simultaneously:
- dependence on former DMK allies,
- instability inside AIADMK,
- and pressure to prove TVK is a genuine alternative to both Dravidian giants.
The coming floor test will reveal whether Vijay merely survived the election arithmetic — or has begun reshaping Tamil Nadu politics altogether.
Also Read: Vijay Does What BJP Didn’t: Full ‘Vande Mataram’ at Swearing-In https://www.vibesofindia.com/vijay-does-what-bjp-didnt-full-vande-mataram-at-swearing-in/
