New Delhi: Fissures within the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) came out into the open on Monday when some party MLAs, led by senior leader C Ve Shanmugam, submitted a letter to Protem Speaker MV Karuppaiah demanding the appointment of former minister SP Velumani as the AIADMK legislature party leader. The move is being seen as a major claim by the Velumani camp and has fueled speculations of an internal power struggle aimed at sidelining the party general secretary. Edappadi K Palaniswami Within the assembly.This comes after reports that some MLAs had demanded that Edappadi K Palaniswami should step down following the party’s poor electoral performance.AIADMK contested 167 out of 234 constituencies and the party could secure only 47 seats.In view of the election results, a series of MLA meetings were held under the chairmanship of party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. Several senior AIADMK leaders and former ministers, including Shanmugam and Velumani, and MLAs supporting him stayed away from the meetings called by Palaniswami.ANI quoted former AIADMK leader KC Palaniswami as saying, “There is a clear division within the party. Many MLAs want a change in leadership. If Palaniswami continues to be the leader, some MLAs are likely to support TVK.”Signs of discord within the party were visible during the swearing-in ceremony of MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly earlier in the day, where party MLAs were seen sitting in different groups inside the House.