Speaker's Historic Verdict: 21 AIADMK MLAs Will Not Be Disqualified — 4 Resigned MLAs Face Action; Party Strength 43

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar on June 9 delivered three pivotal rulings on the AIADMK legislative status issue, providing major clarity after weeks of uncertainty.

First, the Speaker announced that no disqualification proceedings will be initiated against the 21 AIADMK MLAs who voted in favour of the TVK government during the confidence motion, despite a party whip directing them to vote against. The Speaker cited a letter from AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) confirming that the party had accepted the legislators' apologies and did not wish to pursue action under the anti-defection law.

Second, the Speaker announced that disqualification proceedings have been initiated against four AIADMK MLAs — Perundurai Jayakumar, Maragatham Kumaravel, Isakki Subbiah, and Sathyabama — for resigning their memberships and joining TVK, which the Speaker held amounted to voluntarily giving up party membership under the Tenth Schedule.

Third, the Speaker confirmed that AIADMK's legislative strength in the Tamil Nadu Assembly stands at 43, following the four resignations.

The ruling is a significant reprieve for the 21 AIADMK MLAs who had backed TVK, and for the AIADMK party itself, which retains a 43-member bloc in the House.

The four by-elections triggered by the resigned MLAs' vacated seats are expected to be announced by the Election Commission in the coming weeks.