The political turmoil within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam deepened on Monday after three rebel MLAs resigned from the Tamil Nadu Assembly, dealing a fresh setback to the opposition party already battling an internal leadership crisis following its poor performance in the 2026 Assembly elections.
The resignations came after the legislators met Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar, further fuelling speculation that they are set to join Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in the coming days.
Among those who resigned is K Maragatham Kumaravel, the MLA from Madurantakam constituency. Kumaravel had secured victory in the recent Assembly elections by defeating TVK candidate Ezhil Katharine Ezhilmalai by a margin of around 7,194 votes. His resignation is being viewed as politically significant as he is now expected to switch allegiance to the very party he had contested against.
The second rebel legislator, S Jayakumar, represented the Perundurai constituency. He had defeated Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate ND Venkatachalam by 9,693 votes, while TVK candidate VP Arunachalam had finished a close third with a substantial vote share.
The third MLA to resign is P Sathyabama, who won from Dharapuram constituency after defeating DMK candidate T Indirani by a margin of 16,727 votes. TVK’s Gowri Chitra had emerged as a distant third in the constituency.
Notably, all three legislators were among the 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs who had cross-voted in favour of the TVK government during the recent floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Their resignations now indicate a widening split within the AIADMK and strengthen the possibility of a larger political realignment in the state.
If the rebel MLAs formally join TVK, it would significantly boost the ruling party’s numbers in the 234-member Assembly. The Vijay-led party had narrowly fallen short of securing a simple majority after the elections and has since been dependent on outside support and rebel legislators to maintain stability.
For the AIADMK, however, the development marks another serious political setback. The party has been struggling to contain dissent after its disappointing electoral showing, where it managed to secure only 47 seats. The rebellion within the party is being spearheaded by senior leaders SP Velumani and C Ve Shanmugam, both of whom have openly questioned the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami, popularly known as EPS.
The rebel faction has demanded that Palaniswami step down as the party’s general secretary, arguing that the AIADMK requires a leadership overhaul to revive its political fortunes. The latest resignations are expected to intensify pressure on EPS and could potentially trigger further defections in the coming weeks.
The fast-changing political equations in Tamil Nadu have dramatically altered the state’s opposition landscape, with Vijay’s TVK emerging as a major force while the AIADMK faces one of the toughest internal crises in its recent history.
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