Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) announced that, following the receipt of four separate letters from AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, condoning the conduct of 21 of the 25 rebel MLAs who voted contrary to the direction issued by the party whip during the vote of confidence for the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led government on May 13, he had dropped further action against them.

Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat in Chennai, Mr. Prabhakar said proceedings had been initiated against four rebel legislators — Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), and Esaki Subaya (Ambasamudram) — who resigned and joined the TVK, and that a decision would be taken later.

Describing the sequence of events, the Speaker said Mr. Palaniswami had submitted a letter on May 13 evening seeking the disqualification of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India after they voted against the directions of the party whip. A few days later, he said he had received four separate letters from Mr. Palaniswami condoning the actions of 21 MLAs. The Speaker said he had examined them, gone through the Assembly rules, and decided to drop the proceedings against the 21 MLAs.

He also read out the names of the 21 MLAs: G. Hari (Tiruttani), S.M. Sukumar (Arcot), K.C. Veeramani (Jolarpet), P. Balakrishnareddy (Hosur), K.P. Anbalagan (Palacodu), Maragatham Vetrivel (Pappireddippatti), Dhilipan Jaishankar (Sankarankovil (SC),) C.Ve. Shanmugam (Mailam), R. Rakesh (Sankarapuram), S. Sekar (Paramathi-Velur), N.S.N. Nataraj (Kangayam), P. Haribaskar (Anthiyur), S.P. Velumani (Thondamuthur), K. Ravimanoharan (Palani), Natham R. Viswanathan (Natham), M.R. Vijayabhaskar (Karur), Leemarose Martin (Lalgudi), K. Mohan (Panruti), A. Arunmozhithevan (Bhuvanagiri), R. Kamaraj (Nannilam), and C. Vijayabaskar (Viralimalai).

In India’s electoral politics, it is not uncommon for trusted lieutenants to turn against their mentors. A case in point is 57-year-old S.P. Velumani, Tamil Nadu’s former Local Administration Minister in the AIADMK government, who is now leading colleagues against the party’s general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.

In the formative years of Mr. Velumani’s career, the goodwill he reportedly enjoyed from V.K. Sasikala, the confidante of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, and Ravanan, a relative of Ms. Sasikala who oversaw party affairs in the western region, helped him secure a political breakthrough. When Jayalalithaa returned as Chief Minister in May 2011, he was inducted into the Cabinet.

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Mr. Velumani’s exit from the Cabinet in January 2012 almost coincided with the arrest of Ravanan by the Coimbatore Rural Police in connection with a criminal case. He was reinducted into Jayalalithaa’s Cabinet in May 2014, and entrusted with key portfolios, including Local Administration and Rural Development, positions he held for seven years at a stretch.

The high point of his career came after Mr. Palaniswami became Chief Minister in February 2017. In fact, after the Supreme Court upheld Ms. Sasikala’s conviction in a disproportionate assets case involving Jayalalithaa, Mr. Velumani was among those who reportedly persuaded Ms. Sasikala to choose Mr. Palaniswami for the top post. Her original choice, K.A. Sengottaiyan, now a Minister in the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government, had declined to take up the job.

Driving force

Once Ms. Sasikala began serving her prison term in Bengaluru, Mr. Velumani quickly emerged as one of the driving forces behind the Palaniswami camp. Their roots in Tamil Nadu’s western belt and affiliation to the Kongu Vellala Gounder community complemented the two leaders politically. Soon, Mr. Velumani came to be called the ‘Man Friday’ of Mr. Palaniswami, who, in turn, allowed greater space to the former to operate politically in the region. Over time, Mr. Velumani earned the sobriquet ‘Coimbatore’s Chief Minister’. From 2018 onwards, allegations were made by anti-corruption activists and his political adversaries that his relatives and aides secured high-value contracts awarded by local bodies. After the DMK formed the government in May 2021, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, which conducted searches at 42 properties in Coimbatore district, named him as an accused in an additional affidavit filed before the Madras High Court last year. The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the award of contracts by the Greater Chennai and Coimbatore Corporations.

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Mr. Velumani has remained a popular figure in his constituency, owing to the network he built and the way he cultivated support among electors in Thondamuthur. However, this time, he returned to the Assembly with a margin of less than 15,000 votes — a sharp decline from his earlier winning margins of around 40,000 to 60,000 votes.

Talks of a rift between the former Minister and his “benefactor” began circulating immediately after the party’s debacle at the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Velumani had said his party would have won 35 to 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry if it had faced the electorate in an alliance with the BJP.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections, the general expectation was that the AIADMK would not return to power but do well in the western belt. But the party’s performance in the region proved disastrous. In Coimbatore district, Mr. Velumani was the only AIADMK candidate to win, in sharp contrast to the previous election when the party and its ally, the BJP, secured all 10 seats. It was in these circumstances that Mr. Velumani, along with party colleagues, including former Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam, raised the banner of revolt against Mr. Palaniswami and supported the TVK government.

Apparently, their game plan did not work, as the rebels could muster the support of only 25 legislators out of the AIADMK’s 47, falling short of the required 32. Of late, Mr. Velumani has adopted a more conciliatory tone, stating that Mr. Palaniswami is the general secretary. Whether Mr. Velumani can bounce back or fade into oblivion remains to be seen.

The story so far: The rift in the AIADMK widened on Wednesday night (May 13, 2026) in the wake of the party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami removing 26 rebel district secretaries, including 12 legislators, from their positions. Among those who were sacked from their posts were former Ministers C.Ve. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani. Earlier in the day, the division in the organisation was out in the Assembly when 22 legislators, owing allegiance to Mr. Palaniswami, opposed the trust motion moved by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) regime and 25 MLAs favoured the motion.

As per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and the Members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (Disqualification Ground of Defection) Rules, 1986, there are two grounds for disqualification in the event of defection — when a member voluntarily gives up membership of his or her political party and when a member votes or abstains from voting contrary to any direction issued by his or her political party.

Ahead of Wednesday’s (May 13, 2026) floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday (May 12, 2026) called on rebel AIADMK leaders led by former Ministers S.P. Velumani and C.Ve. Shanmugam hours after they announced support to his ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Earlier, in the Assembly, newly elected Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar, allowed Mr. Velumani also to speak immediately after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami delivered a short speech congratulating the Speaker on his election.

Tamil Nadu politics LIVE: Follow updates, highlights on May 12, 2026

In the morning, the rebels declared Mr. Velumani as the “AIADMK Legislature Party leader”. Mr. Palaniswami’s supporters, however, said he was the leader of the Legislature Party. The AIADMK led by Mr. Palaniswami would vote against the confidence motion to be moved by the TVK government, senior leader O.S. Manian said.

In an interview with The Hindu, the Speaker acknowledged that he got separate representations from both sides (on the election of Legislature Party leader).

Mr. Vijay, who continued his outreach to various political party leaders for the second consecutive day, went to Mr. Shanmugam’s house in Chennai in the afternoon.

Earlier, Mr. Shanmugam accused Mr. Palaniswami of having attempted to form a government with arch rival DMK’s support following the fractured mandate in the Assembly election. “This was a shock to us,” he told journalists. Since the AIADMK was established to oppose the DMK, and its politics revolved around this for 53 years, any move to collaborate with its rival would lead to “the party’s disappearance,” he said. Therefore, it was resolved to extend support to the TVK.

Mr. Shanmugam and Mr. Velumani said the reasons for the party’s back-to-back electoral setbacks must be analysed. “We have requested the general secretary to convene a meeting of the general council as early as possible,” Mr. Shanmugam said adding, “we are no longer in any pre-poll alliance”.

Mr. Velumani requested the media not to spread rumours that his group was seeking to create a split in the party. “Elders of many of us were with the party since the launch of the organisation,” he pointed out.

The group said G. Hari (Tiruttani MLA) was elected the deputy leader; C. Vijayabhaskar (former Minister), the whip; and Kamaraj, the secretary.

However, AIADMK senior leader O.S. Manian, a supporter of Mr. Palaniswami, accused Mr. Shanmugam of spreading false information and attempting to lure MLAs. While he claimed that all 47 AIADMK legislators had signed a letter electing Mr. Palaniswami as the Legislature Party leader, presently, 26 members were on his side. “The signatures of all members supporting Mr. Palaniswami proves the AIADMK remains united. The desire to become Ministers or hold powerful positions is what is driving such statements (from rebels). While the media says they [rebels] have 30 MLAs and we have 17, we actually have 26 members with us,” Mr. Manian told journalists at the Secretariat.

Pointing out under Mr. Palaniswami’s leadership various challenges were overcome and the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol reclaimed (it was frozen following a split after Jayalalithaa’s death), he said in the election, the NDA secured nearly 1.34 crore votes.

Mr. Manian dismissed as “entirely baseless” Mr. Shanmugam’s claim of alliance talks with the DMK. The rebels were driven by a desire to become Ministers, he alleged.

Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy, who was appointed whip by Mr. Palaniswami, said, “As per the directions of the general secretary, we will vote against the Motion of Confidence. All members have been informed. Legal action will be initiated against anyone who cross-votes.”