Fourth AIADMK Defector Joins Vijay's TVK After Quitting Party As EPS Leadership Cracks
Fourth AIADMK Defector Joins Vijay's TVK After Quitting Party As EPS Leadership Cracks Published By, Last Updated: May 26, 2026, 16:51 IST This came after
Fourth AIADMK Defector Joins Vijay's TVK After Quitting Party As EPS Leadership Cracks Published By, Last Updated: May 26, 2026, 16:51 IST This came after three MLAs from C Ve Shanmugam’s rebel camp quit the party to join Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's TVK party. Rapid Read Ambasamudram MLA Esakki Subaya (Facebook) Ambasamudram MLA Esakki Subaya, who tendered his resignation from the AIADMK on Tuesday, formally joined Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, becoming the fourth rebel AIADMK MLA to join the party in two days. Subaya arrived to meet Speaker JCD Prabhakar to submit his resignation from the MLA post. He was among the 25 AIADMK MLAs who had earlier defied the party whip and supported the TVK government during the May 13 trust vote, exposing deep cracks within the party.
Subaya said he had taken the decision “keeping in mind the welfare of the people" of his constituency and promised to issue a detailed explanation later, according to The Indian Express. Earlier on Monday, three MLAs from Shanmugam’s rebel camp quit the party to join the Vijay camp. AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham, D Jayakumar and V Sathyabama resigned from the Assembly and joined the ruling TVK, in a major setback for Edappadi K Palaniswami. With the four resignations, AIADMK’s strength in the Tamil Nadu Assembly has dropped to 43. By-elections to the vacant constituencies are expected within the next six months. EPS Faction Urges Speaker Not To Accept Resignations The Palaniswami faction of the AIADMK urged the Speaker not to accept the resignation of three party MLAs on Tuesday, saying they joined the ruling TVK even before their resignations were notified.
AIADMK party whip SS Krishnamoorthy stressed that while their previous plea seeking the disqualification of the 25 MLAs who defied party diktat and voted in favour of the TVK-led government in the May 13 floor test was pending before the Speaker, he could not accept the resignation of the concerned leaders. The defections are being seen as a major setback for AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami after the party’s disappointing performance in the 2026 Assembly elections. The results weakened EPS’s claim as the undisputed face of the anti-DMK space in Tamil Nadu politics and led to an unprecedented rebellion inside the party News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: May 26, 2026, 16:44 IST News india Fourth AIADMK Defector Joins Vijay's TVK After Quitting Party As EPS Leadership Cracks Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s.
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