AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay of poaching six party MLAs through horse-trading, responding to Vijay’s allegations of AIADMK-DMK collusion.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Palaniswami dismissed Vijay’s July 10 claim in Karur that the AIADMK and DMK were “partners in crime,” calling the remark inappropriate for a sitting chief minister. He countered that Vijay was the “thief,” alleging that AIADMK legislators elected under the two-leaves symbol were pressured to resign and then inducted into Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
AIADMK Allegations of Horse-Trading
Palaniswami named former minister C Vijayabaskar among the six AIADMK MLAs who resigned before joining TVK. He questioned how Vijay’s promise of “pure, clean governance” aligned with absorbing leaders from rival parties after criticizing them.
The AIADMK chief also claimed the TVK government relied on external support, citing contradictory statements from ally VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan as evidence of instability. He denied Vijay’s assertion of AIADMK-DMK collusion, calling it “fiction.”
Shifts in Tamil Nadu Political Alliances
Recent realignments have seen VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leave the DMK-led alliance to join the TVK government, while Left parties now provide outside support. Palaniswami argued these moves exposed cracks in the DMK’s “ideology-based alliance” narrative.
