Chennai, May 13:
In swift disciplinary action following the Assembly trust vote, Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday removed senior leaders S. P. Velumani, C. Ve. Shanmugam and C. Vijayabaskar from their party posts for supporting the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
Natham R. Viswanathan was also relieved of his responsibilities after defying the partyâs directive and voting in favour of the TVK government during the confidence motion in the Assembly.
The action came after a section of AIADMK legislators broke ranks and backed Chief Minister Vijay, triggering a major internal rift within the party.
Party sources indicated that the leadership moved quickly to replace the removed functionaries and appoint new district-level office-bearers, signalling a firm stance against indiscipline.
The developments underline growing factional tensions within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the aftermath of the trust vote.