The Opposition, consisting of 89 DMK MLAs, 8 Congress MLAs, and a lone IUML member, has 98 legislators in all.
A day after the merging of two rival AIADMK factions, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu is now facing a fresh crisis, with 19 dissident MLAs withdrawing their support to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday. This has reduced the government to a minority and the DMK has now written to the Governor, seeking a floor test in the Assembly. The 19 legislators are opposed to the merger of factions led by Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, as they hold the latter responsible for the split in the party and subsequent freezing of the party symbol by the Election Commission (EC). They are also opposed to the move to throw out Sasikala, who is in jail.
The ruling AIADMK government has been reduced to 116 MLAs, including the Speaker, in the 233-member House, excluding one vacant seat. In case of a trust vote, if all MLAs turn up for voting, it will still require 117 MLAs for a simple majority.
The Opposition, consisting of 89 DMK MLAs, 8 Congress MLAs, and a lone IUML member, has 98 legislators in all.
Besides, three MLAs — S Karunas, U Thaniyarasu, and Thameemun Ansari — who had contested the election on the AIADMK symbol, blamed the Centre's interference in the state matters for all the confusion. "We will announce our support after taking into account the wishes of party officebearers and cadre," they said in a joint statement.
The dissident MLAs, who owed their allegiance to ousted AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran, met Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan to urge him to "intervene and institute the Constitutional process" as Palanisami had lost their confidence. Later, the legislators were taken to a Puducherry resort, for the second time this year, as Dinakaran wanted them to be together and away from the influence of the Palaniswami government.
"I got disillusioned with the functioning of the government headed by Palaniswami as there has been an abuse of power, favouritism, misuse of government machinery, and widespread corruption," identical letters submitted by the MLAs to the Governor stated.
"We want a trust vote so that CM can be replaced," MLA Thanga Tamilselvan said. He said some more MLAs would be joining them soon. Sasikala's brother Divakaran said Palaniswami must resign on moral grounds and a new government should be formed.
Creating more trouble for the Palanisami camp, he suggested that Speaker P Dhanapal, a Dalit, should become the next CM. With 33 MLAs, Dalits constitute the single-largest group of legislators in the party. Palanisami earned Dinakaran's ire after being handpicked by Sasikala for the post of CM after Panneerselvam's rebellion in February.
Leader of the Opposition and DMK Working President MK Stalin also wrote to the Governor, urging him to direct Palanisami to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
"Consequent upon the identical letters given by MLAs to the Governor, expressing lack of confidence on CM Palanisami, an unprecedented Constitutional crisis has erupted, in which the present government has lost its majority," he wrote in a letter to the Governor.
Commenting on the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) role in the merger, Stalin said Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped merge the two "corrupt factions" in the state.
Meanwhile, Palanisami held a meeting with Panneerselvam and senior ministers at the the Secretariat but the outcome of that discussion is yet to be known.
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