Major stir in Tamil Nadu politics. Around 10 AIADMK MLAs may resign and join CM Vijay's party TVK before August 15.
Signs of a major reshuffle are emerging in Tamil Nadu politics. Chief Minister Vijay's party, TVK, has intensified its preparations to make a significant political dent in the opposition party AIADMK.
A special campaign named 'Operation-L' is being run within the party, under which MLAs and leaders from opposition parties are leaving their parties to join TVK.
According to information from party sources, around 10 AIADMK MLAs may resign from their assembly positions before August 15.
Following this, they will all join TVK. It is being said that this entire process will be completed before the Election Commission announces potential by-elections, to move forward strategically.
This development is also significant because, during the formation of the Vijay government in May, 25 AIADMK MLAs had supported TVK against the party whip.
About half of these MLAs have now either joined TVK or are in the process of joining, which is a major blow to AIADMK.
In the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, TVK had performed splendidly, winning 108 seats. Chief Minister Vijay himself won from two seats.
However, TVK fell slightly short of the majority mark. Subsequently, Vijay formed his government with the support of Congress and other parties.
In the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, 7 seats are currently vacant, bringing the effective strength of the house to 227. Currently, TVK has 107 MLAs.
If more AIADMK MLAs join the party, the majority of the ruling party will become even stronger. Even if TVK crosses the majority mark, it will still need Congress, whose five MLAs have supported the Vijay government.
Recently, former ministers C. Vijayabhaskar and M.R. Vijayabhaskar resigned from their MLA posts and joined TVK.
Besides them, several former MLAs and district-level leaders, including M.S.M. Anandhan and S. Valarmathi, have also joined the party.
According to media reports, several other senior leaders from AIADMK may also resign and join Vijay's party. This process could be completed by the end of July or the beginning of August.
Sources say that the MLAs joining TVK have been assured of party tickets in the upcoming by-elections.
Furthermore, some senior leaders have been promised cabinet positions upon winning the election, while others have been assured of important responsibilities as district secretaries and in the organization.
Ever since the defeat in the assembly elections, reports of internal strife and discontent have been emerging from AIADMK.
An AIADMK leader, on the condition of anonymity, stated that there has been long-standing discontent within the party.
He alleges that under the leadership of former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, many leaders were ignored, and organizational disputes were not resolved in time.
The resentment in the party grew further, especially after the removal of district secretaries who were supporters of S.P. Velumani.
Regarding this continuous defection, the opposition has made serious allegations of horse-trading and political pressure against TVK.
The opposition says that with some former ministers facing corruption cases joining TVK, it is acting like a 'political washing machine'.
However, TVK has outrightly rejected all these allegations. The party states that legal action will continue at its own pace and there will be no interference in any case.
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