A day after the merger of two AIADMK factions , 19 MLAs owing allegiance to ''ousted'' deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Tuesday submitted letters to Governor Ch.Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan, expressing lack of confidence in Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and withdrawing support to him.
As things stand now, the Palaniswami faction falls short of a simple majority by one seat.
In the identical letters submitted to the Governor, the MLAs stated that the Chief Minister has "forfeited" their confidence and that of the public and hence they were withdrawing their support to him. They urged the Governor to "intervene and institute the constitutional process".
'AIADMK government will prove its majority on Assembly floor'
"The Governor received our letters and said he would take action”, one of the 19 MLAs told The Hindu.
The Governor later left for Mumbai, sources in the Raj Bhavan said.
Andipatti MLA Thangatamilselvan, addressing the media outside Mr. Dhinakaran's residence in Adyar in Chennai, said, "Our aim is to bring about a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister. You will have to wait and see how we will change the Chief Minister."
Sources in the Dhinakaran camp said that they were totally against the way in which the merger was made without consulting them. "It was because of Mr. Panneerselvam, we had to face a confidence motion against the Chief Minister and that he had only few MLAs. Also, we lost our Two Leaves symbol because of him."
Published - August 22, 2017 01:10 pm IST
