The cracks within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have erupted into the open as some party MLAs, led by senior leader C Ve Shanmugam, have submitted a letter to pro tem Speaker MV Karuppaiah seeking the appointment of former minister SP Velumani as the AIADMK legislature party leader, a post which party general secretary E Panaiswami is eyeing.
The letter by Velumani camp is seen as a major move against Palaniswami, who rose to the ranks within the party after internal strife post J Jayalalitha's death.
Earlier reports suggested that some newly elected legislators of the party have demanded Palniswami to step down, taking responsibility for the poor performance in the recently concluded elections.
In the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, AIADMK contested 167 seats but managed to win only 47 seats in the TVK tsunami.
The rift started just after the results when EPS held a series of meetings with the MLAs. These meetings were abandoned by Shanmugam and Velumani, along with their supporting MLAs.
According to a report by News18, as many as 30 MLAs have backed Velumani as the Legislative Party Leader, while 17 MLAs have backed EPS through a separate letter.
It is also believed that the camps of EPS and Velunami have grown apart over support for the TVK government during the government formation huddle.
While Velunami camp was pushing to back Vijay's TVK government from outside, EPS was against it.
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Out of AIADMK's 47 MLAs, 28 held a closed-door meeting in Chennai and formally urged EPS to extend support to the TVK government.
Speaking to PTI, former AIADMK leader KC Palanisamy said, "There is a clear split within the party. Many MLAs want a change in leadership. If Palaniswami continues as a leader, there is a possibility of some MLAs extending support to the TVK."