Palaniswami, M K Stalin allege 'horse trading' as three rebel AIADMK MLAs quit party, join TVK

These former MLAs are believed to have been promised TVK tickets for the upcoming by-elections.

Chennai: In scenes reminiscent of ‘Operation Lotus’ in states like Karnataka and giving credence to allegations of “horse trading”, three rebel AIADMK MLAs who voted in favour of the TVK government during the May 13 trust vote resigned from their posts on Monday and immediately joined the ruling party.

The move – which observers believe more rebel AIADMK MLAs are likely to follow – is aimed at helping the ruling TVK secure a majority of its own in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly without depending on support from alliance partners. TVK currently has 107 MLAs and is supported by 13 MLAs from the Congress, VCK, CPI(M), CPI, and IUML.

For now, four constituencies – including Tiruchirapalli (East), which was vacated by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay – will go to by-polls. However, sources told DH that the TVK camp is in touch with at least a half-a-dozen AIADMK MLAs who are likely to submit their papers in the next few days.

These former MLAs, who have escaped disqualification under the anti-defection law by resigning, are believed to have been promised TVK tickets for the upcoming by-elections.

The development is a body blow to the AIADMK, which has ruled Tamil Nadu for 30 years of its 53 years of existence. Once standing at 47 MLAs --already the party's second-lowest tally in a losing election -- these latest resignations have brought their strength down to 44.

The first phase of ‘Operation Whistle’ was executed and completed with precision timing in just about two hours, with the signature of Aadhav Arjuna -- son-in-law of PWD Minister and lottery baron Santiago Martin --written all over it.

Arjuna’s mother-in-law, Leema Rose Martin, is also a member of the rebel AIADMK group, having been elected from Lalgudi in Tiruchirapalli.

The MLAs -- Maragadham Kumaravelu (Madhuranthagam), Jeyakumar (Perundurai), and Sathyabama (Dharapuram) -- handed over their resignation letters at 2:30 pm. They then walked up a floor to meet Arjuna at 2:45 pm at his chamber in the Secretariat to receive their TVK membership cards. At 3:55 pm, the Speaker accepted their resignations, and they met Chief Minister Vijay at 4:15 pm.

The development came even as four rebel MLAs owing allegiance to former ministers C Ve Shanmugam and S P Velumani left the rebel camp on Monday to return to the AIADMK fold, meeting with general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and reducing the rebel group’s strength from 25 to 17. With this, the number of MLAs supporting Palaniswami has gone up to 27.

The resignations and subsequent integration into the TVK have busted the claims made by Vijay during the election campaign that the TVK is a ‘Thooya Sakthi’ (pure force).

AIADMK was quick to term the resignations as evidence of “horse trading” by the TVK, with its general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami, accusing the ruling party of introducing “horse-trading and degrading political practices” to Tamil Nadu. Former Chief Minister and DMK President M K Stalin alleged that horse trading was taking place at “horse speed” and needled the Congress for its support of the TVK.

Though such operations have been common in states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, this is the first time that such a development has taken place in Tamil Nadu. During the 2011-2016 term, then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa did engineer defections in actor Vijayakanth’s DMDK, but those lawmakers never resigned to contest by-elections.

‘Operation Lotus’ is a term used by opposition parties in India to attack the BJP for bringing down or weakening rival governments by engineering defections.

A crisis has been brewing in the AIADMK ever since the party was pushed to the third position in the April 23 assembly elections, with the Velumani faction breaking away and supporting the trust vote moved by Vijay on May 13, ignoring Palaniswami’s direction to vote against it.

The rebel MLAs, after the TVK ignored their request to be taken into the Cabinet, made a climbdown by acknowledging Palaniswami’s leadership, following which compromise talks were launched to bring about a truce. However, a group broke away from the rebels and resigned from their posts, with sources indicating that more legislators will join the TVK camp.