Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 12 : Its now official, there appears to be two clear faction in the AIADMK with one faction led by MLA CV Shanmugam claiming majority and announcing support for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government in Tamil Nadu. Shanumgan said that the majority of party members had rejected the proposal of forming a government with the support of the DMK.
Speaking to reporters, Shanmugam said the AIADMK was founded in opposition to the DMK and maintained that aligning with the ruling party would have weakened the organisation.
"We started this party against the DMK. For 53 years, we did politics against the DMK. In such a situation, the proposal that an AIADMK government would be formed with the support of the DMK was one that the majority of members did not accept and instead opposed. If we join an alliance with the DMK, then the AIADMK will be vanished. They didn't accept it. We took the decision to support the TVK, which got the victory," he said.
He further stated that the majority of AIADMK MLAs passed a resolution that the party would contest future elections independently and without any alliance. Shanmugam also announced that former minister S.P. Velumani would serve as the AIADMK Assembly Leader, while C. Vijayabaskar had been appointed as the party Whip. He added that the party had already submitted the letter to the Pro-tem Speaker.
"So, the majority of AIADMK MLAs in the meeting passed a resolution that the AIADMK will list in the election alone. AIADMK will be without any alliance. We are without an alliance now and should revamp our party in the coming days. Secondly, our former Minister S.P. Velumani will be the AIADMK Assembly Leader. The Whip is C. Vijayabaskar. We gave our letter to the Pro-tem Speaker yesterday," he said.
Reflecting on the party's recent electoral setbacks, Shanmugam said AIADMK leaders collectively accepted responsibility for the losses and called for an internal review.
"Hereafter, regarding the AIADMK, in the past elections we have been facing continuous losses. There is no other body to blame any individual. We accept the verdict and collectively accept the loss. We should do research on why we lost, in consultation with all. We have asked General Secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami to convene a meeting of the General Council as soon as possible to discuss why we lost. We hope that he will convene the General Council meeting. When he convenes the meeting, we will discuss issues pertinent to our party. We will meet again at 2:00 PM," he said.