C. Joseph Vijay on Wednesday comfortably proved his majority in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly after securing support from 144 legislators during the high-stakes confidence motion.

The trust vote turned politically dramatic after a section of rebel AIADMK legislators broke ranks and voted in favour of the Vijay-led government despite strong opposition from party leadership.

According to Assembly proceedings, nearly 25 MLAs linked to the rebel faction of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supported the confidence motion, giving Vijay a much larger margin than initially expected.

The rebellion emerged despite AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami publicly directing party legislators to oppose the motion in the House.

The floor test witnessed heated political exchanges and visible divisions among opposition parties. Legislators from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam staged a walkout during the proceedings, while four PMK MLAs and one BJP legislator abstained from the vote.

Before the trust vote, Vijay’s government already had the backing of 120 MLAs. However, one legislator was unable to participate after being barred by the Madras High Court due to an ongoing legal dispute linked to his election victory margin.

The political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu had intensified a day earlier when senior AIADMK leader C V Shanmugam openly declared support for Vijay and criticised Palaniswami’s political strategy.

Shanmugam reportedly accused EPS of attempting to explore understandings with rival parties and clarified that the rebel AIADMK faction would not support any future arrangement involving the DMK.

“We want to announce that AIADMK will not be part of any alliance,” Shanmugam had said.