CHENNAI: Former minister C Vijayabaskar resigned as MLA on Tuesday, reducing the strength of the Tamil Nadu Assembly from 234 to 228. He was elected from the Viralimalai Assembly constituency on an AIADMK ticket.
With his resignation, the number of vacant seats in the House has increased to six. The AIADMK's strength has also come down from 47 MLAs to 42.
Vijayabaskar's resignation comes amid continuing unrest within the AIADMK. Over the past two days, he had openly criticised the party leadership, raising questions about the direction of the party.
Hours before submitting his resignation, Vijayabaskar posted a message on social media platform X, taking an indirect swipe at AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. Without naming him, Vijayabaskar said leadership should be based on care, dedication and trust, and not on authority or arrogance.
He further asked that can a meaningful journey be possible when emotions and sentiments are ignored, in his recent post. He also said a leadership that fails to earn the trust and affection of party workers cannot win the support of the people.
His remarks have fuelled speculation that he may soon join either the DMK or Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
Vijayabaskar is the fifth AIADMK MLA to quit the Assembly in recent months. Earlier, Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S Jayakumar (Perundurai) and P Sathyabama (Dharapuram) and Esakki Subbaiyah( Ambasamuthiram) resigned from their posts and later joined the TVK.
The Election Commission has already started preparations for bypolls to the vacant Assembly constituencies, including Tiruchy East, which fell vacant after Chief Minister Vijay resigned from one of the two seats he had won in the Assembly election.
With Vijayabaskar's resignation, attention has now shifted to his next political move.