All is well in AIADMK? EPS camp, rebel MLAs withdraw opposing pleas; Velumani says 'differences resolved'

Chennai:

The AIADMK took a sigh of relief on Wednesday following an apparent patch-up between its factions, one of which had remained distant for weeks following support to the Vijay-led TVK government in Tamil Nadu during its floor test in the assembly.

The development came after rebel MLAs led by former minister SP Velumani met party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami at his residence in Chennai's Greenways Road.

The faction claimed there was never a split in the party but rather a "difference of opinion" which led to MLAs supporting EPS on one side and CV Shanmugam and Velumani on the other.

AIADMK factions withdraw petitions 

Notably, Shanmugam was nowhere to be seen in the meeting, but Velumeni stressed that he, too, was supporting them.

After the meeting with EPS, Velumani met Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar to withdraw a petition from the rebel MLAs demanding a new AIADMK legislature party leader and a chief whip in the House.

In response, the EPS-led side also took back their plea seeking actions against the rebels as per the Anti-Defection Law.

Speaker Prabhakar said he received petitions from the two sides and will read and announce his decision on Thursday.

No split in AIADMK, says Velumani

Speaking to reporters, senior AIADMK leader S P Velumani on Wednesday denied allegations that he had attempted to engineer a split within the party. The Coimbatore strongman also rejected claims by supporters of Edappadi K Palaniswami that his faction backed the TVK government during the May 13 floor test in exchange for positions in the ruling dispensation.

Earlier in the day, around 13 MLAs, including senior leader K C Veeramani, accompanied Velumani for talks. Although former minister D Jayakumar Shanmugam was notably absent, Velumani insisted that he remained part of their group.

"We came from Shanmugam’s office before meeting Palaniswami. We are all together," Velumani said.

"There is no split in the AIADMK as portrayed in the media. There were only differences of opinion, and those issues have now been resolved," Velumani told reporters after the meeting.

He said that after the party’s defeat in the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, several leaders had sought a review meeting to assess the reasons behind the setback. According to him, some legislators had subsequently decided to support the TVK government in the Assembly.

Velumani added that both factions had now withdrawn petitions submitted to the Speaker seeking disqualification of MLAs under the anti-defection law.

“Agri S S Krishnamurthy and others who petitioned the Speaker, as well as the 22 MLAs from our camp who filed a similar petition, have withdrawn their complaints,” he said.

Once regarded as a close aide of Palaniswami, Velumani said the AIADMK chief had agreed to examine their demand for a phased review of the party's electoral performance and the reasons for the defeat.

“We are in the AIADMK, and following the appeal of our general secretary, the party will continue to function as a united and strong force,” he said.

During the political turmoil, four AIADMK MLAs resigned from the party and joined Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). As a result, the AIADMK’s strength in the 234-member Assembly has fallen from 47 to 43 MLAs.