📅 May 13, 2026 | By Pulse India News Desk
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay’s TVK government appears to have crossed a major political hurdle ahead of the floor test, with a rebel AIADMK faction led by C.V. Shanmugam extending support to the ruling side.
According to reports, around 30 of AIADMK’s 47 MLAs are now backing the TVK government, sharply weakening Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s hold over the party legislature wing. NDTV earlier reported that nearly 30 AIADMK MLAs were in favour of supporting Vijay, despite the official AIADMK leadership resisting such a move.
The development could take the Vijay government’s effective support base to around 152 MLAs, giving the new administration a comfortable cushion in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
The move comes just days after Vijay was sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and asked to prove his majority in the Assembly. Reports also said AMMK’s lone MLA S. Kamaraj has extended support to the TVK government, triggering a strong reaction from TTV Dhinakaran, who accused Vijay of political “horse trading.”
For Vijay, the support is more than just arithmetic. It signals that TVK is drawing backing from outside its original alliance, while AIADMK faces one of its biggest internal crises in recent years.
The AIADMK rebel group has argued that the people’s mandate is in favour of Vijay becoming Chief Minister. However, the move is likely to deepen the split inside the party and increase pressure on EPS, who had earlier maintained that AIADMK would not support TVK.
Vijay has also continued his outreach to parties backing his government, including Congress and IUML, presenting his administration as secular and inclusive ahead of the trust vote.
Why This Matters
The support of 30 AIADMK MLAs gives Vijay political stability at a crucial early stage.
It also changes Tamil Nadu’s power equation. TVK, which entered the Assembly as a new force, is now positioned not just as a ruling party but as the centre of a wider anti-DMK and anti-EPS political realignment.
For AIADMK, the crisis is serious. A party that once dominated Tamil Nadu politics now faces a visible rebellion from within its own MLAs.
