AIADMK continues to bleed MLAs, sixth legislator set to join Vijay’s party

His resignation comes barely two weeks after former health minister C Vijayabaskar, MLA from Viralimalai, resigned from the Assembly. Both, considered among the most popular AIADMK MLAs with a significant hold on their constituency, were among the 25 opposition legislators who voted in favour of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s government during the confidence motion on May 13, defying the AIADMK whip.

Deepening crisis

The latest resignation reduces the AIADMK’s Assembly strength from the 47 seats it won in the election to 41, marking one of the sharpest post-election erosions the party has witnessed in recent years.

Earlier, K Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S Jayakumar (Perundurai), P Sathyabama (Dharapuram), Esakki Subbiah (Ambasamudram) and C Vijayabaskar (Viralimalai) had resigned their Assembly seats. Four of them have already joined the ruling TVK, while C Vijayabaskar’s induction is expected shortly. The AIADMK and opposition party leaders alleged horse-trading and huge payments behind these defections, besides an alleged strategy of TVK targeting MLAs from financially poor or socially backward communities.

The resignations have simultaneously increased the number of vacant Assembly constituencies. With Vijayabhaskar’s resignation accepted, six constituencies represented by former AIADMK legislators now stand vacant. Together with the vacancy created after CM Vijay resigned his Tiruchirappalli East seat following his election as Chief Minister, the total number of vacancies in the 234-member Assembly has risen to seven, bringing down its effective strength to 227 until by-elections are held.

The emerging vacancies have inevitably shifted attention towards the next round of by-elections. Having already secured office through post-election realignments, the ruling TVK is expected to view the upcoming contests as an opportunity to convert legislative support into a direct electoral mandate. The Election Commission is yet to announce the schedule for the bypolls.

State’s political churn

The developments also underline the contrasting political trajectories unfolding across Tamil Nadu’s opposition.

While the AIADMK continues to lose sitting legislators one after another, veteran Tamil leader Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), which formally walked out of the DMK-led alliance over the weekend, has encountered a different problem. Its two MLAs, elected on the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol, have refused to resign from the Assembly. Sirkazhi MLA Senthil Selvan has resigned from the MDMK and announced that he would remain with the DMK, while Kadayanallur MLA T M Rajendran has also indicated his unwillingness to vacate his seat.

For the AIADMK, however, the arithmetic has become increasingly difficult. The party entered the Assembly hoping to rebuild after its electoral defeat. Instead, within weeks, it has watched six legislators resign, several senior leaders move towards the ruling party, and its numerical strength shrink steadily inside the House. Whether the exodus stops at six or expands further before the bypolls has now become one of the central political questions confronting Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition.