CHENNAI: Another AIADMK MLA and former minister, MR Vijayabhaskar, resigned as a member of the State Assembly on Monday. With this, the number of MLAs who have resigned from the 17th Tamil Nadu Assembly has risen to seven, of whom six belonged to the AIADMK. Of these, four have already joined the TVK, while two, C Vijayabaskar and MR Vijayabhaskar, are likely to join the ruling party on July 1 or 2. The AIADMK’s strength in the Assembly has now fallen to 41 from 47.
At a time when the Election Commission is making arrangements for by-elections to fill the existing vacancies, the number of vacancies continues to rise.
Following the May 4 Assembly election results, four AIADMK MLAs resigned on May 25 and 26, reflecting a growing internal crisis within the party, S Jayakumar, Maragatham Kumaravel, P Sathyabama, and Esakki Subaya, while former Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, MLA from Viralimalai, resigned on June 16.
Former minister MR Vijayabhaskar met the Speaker of the Assembly and submitted his resignation letter. The Speaker confirmed that the resignation was accepted as it was in the proper format.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Assembly, along with Electricity Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar, called on Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan.
In another development, AIADMK MLA Agri SS Krishnamurthy and Rajya Sabha MP IS Inbadurai visited the Speaker. As he was unavailable, they are likely to meet Assembly Secretary R Shanthi.