Rebel AIADMK MLAs patch up with Palaniswami days after backing Vijay in floor test

NEW DELHI: Warring factions within the AIADMK reconciled on Wednesday after senior leader SP Velumani met party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami at his residence and reaffirmed support for his leadership.Around 13 MLAs accompanied Velumani during the meeting. Soon after the meeting with Palaniswami, Velumani, former minister C Vijayabaskar, supporting MLAs and senior leaders including S S Krishnamurthy met Tamil Nadu nssembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar and submitted a letter declaring that all AIADMK legislators would function as a single unit in the Assembly.Vijayabaskar also withdrew his earlier request seeking recognition as party whip. In a parallel move, the faction led by Palaniswami withdrew its petition seeking disqualification of rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law.The reconciliation comes after weeks of infighting within the AIADMK, triggered when the Velumani-Shanmugam camp extended support to the TVK government during the Assembly floor test. Velumani had accused the party leadership of pursuing “politics opposing DMK”, prompting the EPS camp to seek disqualification of 25 rebel legislators.Earlier in the day, AIADMK signalled a possible truce, asserting there would be “no more divisions” within the party. Invoking the legacy of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the party’s IT wing projected an image of unity amid the internal crisis.Quoting Jayalalithaa, the party said the AIADMK would continue to function “solely for the welfare of the people” and described the party as a “steel fortress” built on the sacrifices of millions of workers.“This steel fortress, built through the sacrifices of millions of party workers, can no longer be shaken by anyone. From now on, there will be no divisions among us. We have only one goal — to once again see our ‘Two Leaves’ flag flying over the Fort,” the statement said.Despite the reconciliation efforts, the party suffered another setback on Tuesday after Ambasamudram MLA Esakki Subaya resigned from the assembly, following three other AIADMK MLAs who had aligned with the ruling TVK.With Subaya’s resignation, the AIADMK’s strength in the Tamil Nadu Assembly has fallen to 43 MLAs, while the number of vacant constituencies has risen to five, including Tiruchirappalli, where actor-turned-politician Vijay had contested.While Palaniswami accused the TVK of “horse-trading”, Tamil Nadu minister and former AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan blamed EPS for the steady exit of MLAs from the party camp.