Chennai, May 26:
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami, has approached the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker objecting to the acceptance of resignations submitted by some of its MLAs.
In a formal petition, the party argued that the resignations were not voluntary and alleged they were obtained under pressure. The AIADMK urged the Speaker to reject them, stating that accepting such resignations without proper verification would be against democratic norms and legislative procedures. It further stressed that due process must be followed and that MLAs should be given an opportunity to personally confirm their intent before any final decision is taken.
The move comes after Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J. C. D. Prabhakar accepted the resignations of three AIADMK MLAs within an hour of submission, stating that they were found to be in proper format as per Assembly Rules.
The MLAs—Maragadam Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), and Sathyabama (Dharapuram)—were among the 25 rebel legislators who supported the trust vote moved by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, defying the party whip.
Speaking to reporters at the State Secretariat, the Speaker said the resignations met all procedural requirements and were therefore accepted.
All 25 rebel MLAs now face the threat of disqualification under the anti-defection law for violating the party whip, as the rebel faction does not have the required two-thirds strength in the Assembly.
With these three vacancies, the Election Commission is expected to announce bypolls, including for the Tiruchy East constituency, which fell vacant after Chief Minister Vijay resigned from the seat. Vijay, founder of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, had contested and won from two constituencies in the April 23 elections and chose to retain the Perambur seat in Chennai.