Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday won the crucial floor test in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly after he got 144 votes and comfortably proved majority.
AIADMK split strengthens Vijay's tally
The majority tally for Vijay received a boost after 25 rebel AIADMK faction voted in his favour despite General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami's warning.
DMK and DMDK MLAs staged a walkout during the floor test. While four PMK MLAs and one BJP MLA abstained from voting.
Vijay already had the backing of 120 MLAs, minus one legislator who had won by a margin of a single vote and was barred by the Madras High Court from participating in Wednesday’s trust vote.
Earlier on Tuesday, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader C. V. Shanmugam publicly announced support for Vijay as Chief Minister and reportedly accused General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) of exploring support from rival DMK and proposed becoming Chief Minister.
Shanmugam also clarified that the rebel faction would not be part of any alliance arrangement involving the DMK. “We want to announce that AIADMK will not be part of any alliance," he said.
