AIADMK Crisis Deepens As 3 Rebel MLAs Quit: Five Major Setbacks For EPS After Poll Defeat
AIADMK Crisis Deepens As 3 Rebel MLAs Quit: Five Major Setbacks For EPS After Poll Defeat Published By, Last Updated: May 25, 2026, 15:33 IST
AIADMK Crisis Deepens As 3 Rebel MLAs Quit: Five Major Setbacks For EPS After Poll Defeat Published By, Last Updated: May 25, 2026, 15:33 IST The crisis deepened further after rebel leader C Ve Shanmugam secured support from 36 MLAs against EPS’s leadership. Rapid Read AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami The crisis within AIADMK deepened further on Monday after three MLAs from rebel leader C Ve Shanmugam’s camp resigned from the party and decided to join actor politician C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). MLAs K Maragatham, D Jayakumar and V Sathyabama met the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker and submitted their resignation letters, dealing another setback to AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami amid the party’s continuing internal crisis. The resignations come at a time when AIADMK has been witnessing growing dissent following its disappointing performance in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The party won 47 seats, while Vijay’s TVK emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats. Here are five major setbacks EPS has faced since the Assembly poll defeat AIADMK’s Poor Election Performance EPS projected the 2026 Assembly election as AIADMK’s political comeback after reuniting with the BJP led NDA. However, despite support from BJP, PMK and AMMK, the alliance failed to stop TVK’s rise across Tamil Nadu. The result weakened EPS’s position as the principal anti DMK leader in Tamil Nadu politics. Revolt Inside AIADMK Soon after the election results, a major rebellion erupted inside AIADMK. During the Assembly trust vote, 25 of the party’s 47 MLAs reportedly backed the Vijay government despite EPS officially opposing the motion. The crisis deepened further after rebel leader C Ve Shanmugam secured support from 36 MLAs against EPS’s leadership.
Several rebel leaders also demanded a special General Council meeting to challenge EPS’s authority. Senior Leaders Question EPS Veteran AIADMK leader Semmalai resigned from the party after the elections, expressing disappointment over recent developments inside the organisation. At the same time, several district leaders criticised EPS’s functioning and accused him of taking unilateral decisions on alliances and candidate selection. The developments exposed growing dissatisfaction among sections of the party leadership. Leaders Defect To TVK EPS also faced setbacks as several leaders moved towards Vijay’s TVK. One of the most prominent exits was Logesh Tamilselvan, son of former AIADMK Speaker P Dhanapal, who joined TVK before the elections and later won from Rasipuram constituency on a TVK ticket. Political observers viewed the defections as a sign that sections of AIADMK cadres were losing confidence in EPS’s leadership.
Growing Political Isolation Following the election results, speculation intensified over possible political realignments involving sections of AIADMK. Reports of internal divisions and conflicting positions during the trust vote further highlighted the party’s weakened position after the polls. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: May 25, 2026, 15:33 IST News india AIADMK Crisis Deepens As 3 Rebel MLAs Quit: Five Major Setbacks For EPS After Poll Defeat Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments...
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