The by-election results in Dharapuram and Madurantakam have once again stirred up a rebellion within the AIADMK.
The C.V. Shanmugam and Velumani faction, which emerged against General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami last May, has once again entered the fray.
Reports have emerged that they are planning to hold a meeting with party functionaries as the first step.

Since Edappadi Palaniswami took over the leadership of the AIADMK, it has been customary for small ripples of unrest to arise within the party after every election result. But until then, it had never erupted into a major crisis.
However, the 2026 election results triggered a major rebellion within the AIADMK. Against Edappadi Palaniswami, 25 MLAs and senior leaders, led by C.V. Shanmugam, S.P. Velumani, and Natham Viswanathan, raised the banner of revolt.
They also voted in support of Vijay in the Legislative Assembly. Subsequently, six MLAs, including Vijayabaskar, resigned from their posts and joined the T.V.K. Although S.P. Velumani, Natham Viswanathan, and others submitted apology letters and rejoined, they were not given proper representation in the party.
For example, Edappadi Palaniswami did not restore the district secretary posts that had been taken away from them. As a result, those who were dissatisfied stayed away from party events and occasionally wrote letters to Edappadi Palaniswami. C.V. Shanmugam was openly and sharply critical of Edappadi Palaniswami.
In this context, the issue had eased somewhat once the by-elections in Dharapuram and Madurantakam were announced. However, with the AIADMK having been pushed to third place in both constituencies, reports have now emerged that the Velumani and C.V. Shanmugam team has once again entered the fray.
Speaking about this, those familiar with the matter said, ``Even before the 2026 Assembly elections, Velumani, Vijayabaskar, Shanmugam, and others had urged General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami to form an alliance with the TVK.

But he did not agree to that. After the election results were announced, they tried talking again about supporting the TVK government. Edappadi Palaniswami did not agree to that either. After that, they began functioning as a separate faction with more than thirty MLAs. They also held talks about serving as ministers in a TVK government.
However, although there were 32 people at the beginning, only 25 voted in the legislature. In the absence of two-thirds of the MLAs, they abandoned that plan. Six people had resigned from their MLA posts. Even then, they had planned to strip the General Secretary post from Edappadi Palaniswami.
However, the circumstances for that did not materialize. Subsequently, they also tried to bring Sasikala, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, and others into the party. But Edappadi Palaniswami did not agree to that either. “Now the circumstances for that have come together,” they said, and spoke about it in detail,
“In the Dharapuram and Madurantakam by-elections, Edappadi Palaniswami tried to somehow win at least in Dharapuram and prove his leadership. That is why he allotted only four wards to S.P. Velumani, intending to record it as a victory achieved through his own leadership.
However, Velumani’s team was keenly focused on ensuring that the AIADMK should not win in these two constituencies. They also carried out the behind-the-scenes work for that. Now that they have come third in both constituencies, they have decided that this is the right moment.

As a first step, they have decided to hold an MLAs’ consultation meeting tomorrow at C.V. Shanmugam’s house in Chennai. S.P. Velumani, Natham Viswanathan, K.P. Anbalagan, and several others are expected to take part. They have also invited some MLAs who are supportive of Edappadi Palaniswami.
In the current situation, with the AIADMK having 41 MLAs, support from 28 MLAs would be sufficient. They have already begun maneuvering to implement the old plan even before the election results are announced. There is also a plan to go to Delhi,” they say.
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