The first day of the newly constituted Assembly offered a vivid display of the growing cracks within the opposition party. In a marked departure from a long-standing tradition of unity and discipline, AIADMK legislators arrived at the Assembly in two separate groups for the oath-taking ceremony on Monday.
One faction, comprising former ministers K P Munusamy and Thalavai N Sundaram among others, accompanied AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, widely known as EPS. A second group, led by former minister S P Velumani and joined by former minister Dr C Vijayabaskar, arrived independently. Senior leader C Ve Shanmugam, who has increasingly emerged as a central figure in the internal dissent, was not seen with the EPS camp.
Traditionally, AIADMK legislators entered the Assembly together as a symbolic demonstration of organisational solidarity, a practice established during the leadership of former Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. The decision by leaders to arrive separately was interpreted in Tamil Nadu's political circles as a clear sign that the party is struggling to preserve internal cohesion after a severe electoral blow.
The AIADMK contested 167 constituencies in the April 23 election but secured victory in only 47. Its vote share also declined sharply from 33.5 per cent in the 2021 Assembly elections to 21.21 per cent in 2026. The result not only kept the party out of power but also stripped it of its status as the principal opposition in the Assembly, a humiliation that many within the organisation attribute to the leadership of Palaniswami.
In the days following the election, several closed-door meetings were convened to assess the party's future. According to sources within the AIADMK, those discussions quickly exposed profound disagreements over the party's next course of action.
One faction strongly opposed any move to support Vijay's TVK government, arguing that such a decision would further erode the AIADMK's independent identity and weaken its long-term political relevance. Another group advocated extending outside support to the ruling party, believing that cooperation with Vijay could help the AIADMK remain politically relevant and stem further decline in its support base.
The debate has intensified calls for a leadership change. Several legislators are reported to have demanded that Palaniswami step down as party chief, contending that the AIADMK has suffered repeated electoral defeats under his stewardship since Jayalalithaa's death in 2016. The absence of senior leaders, including Velumani and Shanmugam, from meetings convened by EPS after the election has fuelled speculation of a coordinated rebellion.
Former AIADMK leader K C Palanisamy publicly declared that there is a "clear split" within the party and urged EPS to "voluntarily step down" in order to reunify the organisation before the next electoral cycle.
The discontent extends beyond the latest defeat and reflects a broader existential crisis confronting the AIADMK. Since Jayalalithaa's death, the party has struggled to project a singular and commanding leader capable of holding together its influential regional power centres and caste-based support networks. Although EPS emerged as the dominant figure after a prolonged internal battle involving O Panneerselvam and the Sasikala faction, critics argue that he has failed to restore the party's electoral strength.
The rapid rise of Vijay's TVK has deepened that crisis. For decades, Tamil Nadu politics revolved around the bipolar contest between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the AIADMK. The emergence of TVK as the ruling party has disrupted that political structure and left AIADMK leaders sharply divided over whether confrontation or accommodation offers the best path to survival.
According to party insiders, Shanmugam and Velumani proposed supporting the TVK government immediately after the election results were announced. EPS reportedly rejected the idea, generating resentment among senior leaders who believed the party needed to adapt swiftly to the transformed political landscape.
Sources indicated that members of the dissident camp also explored channels of communication with TVK leaders. One AIADMK leader claimed that Shanmugam contacted TVK General Secretary N Anand to convey that several legislators were willing to support the ruling party.
However, TVK's response reportedly complicated the situation. According to AIADMK sources, Chief Minister Vijay was unwilling to accept outside support from AIADMK legislators while they retained their party affiliation. Instead, he was said to have insisted that any legislator seeking to back the TVK government should resign from the Assembly and contest again under the party's whistle symbol.
The proposal is understood to have alarmed many AIADMK legislators. While some appear open to tactical cooperation with the ruling party, few are prepared to resign and risk by-elections amid uncertainty over their political future and potential backlash from their constituencies.
Despite intensifying rumours of rebellion, party leaders publicly sought to project confidence and unity.
AIADMK legislator Esakki Subaya dismissed reports of an internal crisis and insisted that the organisation remains intact. "Everything is going well within the party. No one can break the party," he told reporters outside the Assembly.
He rejected claims of widespread dissatisfaction and described reports of a split as "false news," while also avoiding direct responses to questions about a possible change in leadership.
Political observers, however, noted that such public denials are common during periods of internal instability in Tamil Nadu politics. They argue that the more significant indicators lie in the visible separation of senior leaders, parallel consultations and coordinated absences from EPS-led meetings.
Political analyst Sathyalaya Ramakrishnan told PTI that the situation remains fluid and could still be resolved if senior leaders place organisational unity above factional interests. "I feel till now the party is united since all the AIADMK MLAs were sitting together in the Assembly. The senior leaders of the AIADMK must ensure that there is no split in the party," he said.
The challenge confronting the AIADMK is far greater than a routine leadership dispute. The party faces a profound ideological and structural dilemma over how to redefine itself in the post-Jayalalithaa era at a time when a new political force has captured the imagination of the electorate.
For Edappadi K Palaniswami, the coming weeks may determine his political future. If he succeeds in retaining the loyalty of most legislators, he may weather the latest wave of dissent. But if more lawmakers gravitate towards the Velumani-Shanmugam camp, the AIADMK could face yet another major rupture in the decade since Jayalalithaa's death, raising fresh questions about the future of one of Tamil Nadu's most influential political parties.
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