The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is facing its deepest internal crisis yet, with a faction of its legislators openly breaking ranks on Tuesday, 12 May, prompting Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson Salem Dharanidharan to declare it the "real end" of the principal Tamil Nadu opposition party. The split marks the first time in the party's recent history that sitting MLAs themselves have fractured along rival lines — a threshold that previous defections by individual leaders had not crossed.

DMK's Verdict on the AIADMK Crisis

Dharanidharan drew a pointed timeline of the AIADMK's unravelling, noting that the exits of Sasikala (late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's key aide), her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran, former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, and former minister K.A. Sengottaiyan had already hollowed out the party. "The party had already weakened drastically and was operating through different directions and factions. Now, for the first time, even the MLAs of the AIADMK are splitting in different directions, which implies that this is the real end of the AIADMK," he said.

Dharanidharan also turned his fire on Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) supremo and Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, questioning whether the actor-turned-politician was becoming what he called a "washing machine" for tainted politicians. He noted that Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit reports had "categorically" linked former minister S.P. Velumani to scams worth "thousands of crores." "Now, he is allying with them just for electoral necessity. So, how do you think corruption will not happen if the most corrupt people are joining him?" Dharanidharan said.

The Shanmugam-Velumani Revolt

The crisis escalated sharply when senior AIADMK leader and former minister C. Ve. Shanmugam publicly accused party General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) of having floated the idea of a tie-up with the DMK — the very party the AIADMK was founded to oppose. Shanmugam made the allegations at a media address alongside former minister Velumani and other senior leaders, announcing their support for the TVK government.

"AIADMK was founded to oppose the DMK. We were shocked when such a suggestion was made. We clearly told him that any move towards the DMK would destroy the identity of the AIADMK," Shanmugam said. He added that a majority of AIADMK MLAs subsequently passed a resolution declaring the pre-poll alliance defunct and extending support to the Vijay-led TVK government.

New Legislature Party Leadership Announced

In a significant organisational move, the rebel faction announced that Velumani had been elected as the leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party, while former minister C. Vijayabaskar was chosen as the party whip in the Assembly. The faction also called on EPS to convene the AIADMK General Council immediately to examine the reasons behind consecutive electoral defeats and chart corrective measures.

Context: Consecutive Defeats and a Fractured Alliance

The AIADMK's internal tensions have been building since the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, in which the party was pushed to third place, winning only 47 seats. Shanmugam acknowledged the verdict, saying the NDA alliance led by the AIADMK had "failed to win the confidence of the people." The party now faces two parallel power centres — one led by EPS and another by the Velumani-Shanmugam bloc — holding separate consultations over the party's future direction.

This is not the first time the AIADMK has been rocked by post-defeat factionalism; the party went through a prolonged leadership battle between EPS and Panneerselvam after the 2021 Assembly loss, eventually expelling the latter. Whether the current fracture leads to a formal split or a negotiated reconciliation is likely to become clearer once the General Council meeting — if convened — takes place.