Chennai: AIADMK With rival factions laying claim to the post of legislative party leader in the 17th Tamil Nadu Assembly, it appears to be headed for a vertical split.AIADMK General Secretary immediately after the newly elected MLAs took oath on Monday Edappadi K Palaniswami A letter was submitted to Protem Speaker MV Karuppaiah demanding recognition of him as the legislature party leader and Thalavai Sundaram as the party whip. Later, the faction led by C Ve Shanmugam and SP Velumani submitted separate representations to the Protem Speaker to recognize Velumani as the legislature party leader and C Vijayabaskar as the whip. AIADMK sources said that with an eye on an alliance with TVK, the Velumani-Shanmugam camp is trying to garner the support of at least 32 MLAs to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. “There are plans to remove Edappadi K Palaniswami from the post of general secretary,” a source said. Secretariat sources said the EPS faction currently has the support of about 20 of the 47 AIADMK MLAs, while the Velumani-Shanmugam camp has the support of most of the remaining MLAs. Despite the numbers favoring the rebels, officials indicated that Epps may still have an advantage because he is the party general secretary. “Palaniswami argued before the pro tem speaker that as AIADMK general secretary, he alone is authorized to act as the leader of the legislature party and party rules support his claim,” sources said.“However, the rival camp insisted that only a formal meeting of AIADMK MLAs could elect the leader. They submitted signatures of around 30 MLAs supporting Velumani.” Given the competing claims and the possibility of legal and political complications, sources said the pro tem speaker is unlikely to take an immediate decision. The Palaniswami faction includes Agri S Krishnamurthy, OS Manian, Thalavai Sundaram and KC Karuppannan. The rival faction is supported by Natham R Vishwanathan, R Kamaraj, KC Veeramani and Balakrishna Reddy. The latest crisis marks the third major split in the history of the AIADMK. First in 1987, following the death of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran, when the party split between factions led by his widow Janaki Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. The second major breakdown occurred when former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam rebelled in 2017 after Jayalalitha’s death and was ultimately expelled from the party in 2022.