The AMMK, a constituent of the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday expelled the party's lone MLA, S Kamaraj after he publicly declared support for the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led TVK government.
In a statement, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran said the decision to expel Kamaraj from the party's primary membership was taken because he had acted independently against the party's official stand by expressing support for TVK in the Assembly.
"I hereby inform you that Mr. S. Kamaraj, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Mannargudi for the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, has been removed from all his party responsibilities--including his status as a basic member--effective today," Dhinakaran said in a post on X.
Citing reasons, he added, "This action has been taken because Mr. S. Kamaraj, acting unilaterally and in violation of the party's official stance, today expressed his support for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam within the Legislative Assembly."
He further stated that Kamaraj's support for TVK was "in direct contradiction to the party's goals and principles."
The development came within hours of Kamaraj publicly extending support to the Vijay-led government in the Assembly.
Kamaraj had won the Mannargudi Assembly seat in the Tamil Nadu elections by defeating DMK candidate TRB Raja by a margin of 1,566 votes. He secured a total of 68,416 votes in the constituency.
The latest political development follows an ongoing controversy between AMMK and TVK over Kamaraj's alleged support letter to the Vijay-led party.
Earlier on Saturday, Dhinakaran accused TVK of submitting a "forged copy" of Kamaraj's support letter to Governor Rajendra Arlekar and challenged Vijay to produce the original letter and video evidence.
"If it is true, let him surrender the video and the original letter to the Governor. Giving a forged letter, what is this!" Dhinakaran had said.
He had also alleged that TVK leaders intended to pressure the MLA into extending support after submitting the letter.
Following the controversy, Dhinakaran rushed to Lok Bhavan to submit a representation to the Governor and also lodged complaints with the police regarding the alleged forged document.
However, TVK rejected the allegations and released a video claiming that Kamaraj had voluntarily written the support letter in favour of the party. TVK also alleged that Dhinakaran was attempting to suppress facts related to the issue.
"These are the visuals of AMMK MLA Kamaraj voluntarily and happily writing a letter expressing his support for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam," TVK had stated.
Dhinakaran had earlier reiterated that AMMK's lone MLA remained aligned with the NDA and AIADMK alliance and backed AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami as the alliance's chief ministerial face.
TVK, which emerged with 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, has been seeking support from smaller parties and independents to cross the majority mark of 118 seats. Congress, CPI and CPI(M) had already extended support to the Vijay-led party.
(With inputs from ANI)