‘Thalapathy’ Vijay on Wednesday crossed the final hurdle to become the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after surviving a high-voltage trust vote in the Assembly, with deep cracks inside the AIADMK camp emerging as the biggest political takeaway from the floor test.Vijay, whose party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) stunned Tamil Nadu’s political establishment by ending the decades-long dominance of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in last month’s Assembly elections, secured 144 votes in favour of the motion. Twenty-two MLAs voted against him, while five members abstained.The trust vote became necessary after the TVK fell short of the halfway mark in the 234-member Assembly despite winning 108 seats in its debut election performance. The majority mark stood at 118.Soon after the result, Vijay said the TVK’s election symbol had “rewritten political history” in the state. Calling it a “government for minorities and marginalised sections”, he asserted that his administration would safeguard the rights of all communities.While the TVK and its allies managed to comfortably cross the line on paper, the voting exposed a widening rebellion inside the AIADMK, with nearly half of its legislators defying party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.As many as 24 AIADMK MLAs voted in favour of Vijay despite instructions from the leadership to oppose the motion. Another MLA, considered sympathetic to the TVK camp, abstained. Only 17 legislators loyal to Palaniswami voted against the new Chief Minister.The rebellion is being seen as the clearest sign yet of a deepening power struggle within the AIADMK, which has now suffered four straight electoral defeats and continues to battle a leadership crisis.The divisions within the party had surfaced days before the trust vote, when a faction led by senior leader CV Shanmugam reportedly camped at a resort in Puducherry and pushed for extending support to Vijay’s government. Though the leadership publicly dismissed reports of dissent, loyalists claimed the exercise was meant to prevent “poaching” attempts by the TVK, which was then scrambling for additional numbers.The TVK eventually stitched together support from multiple parties. The Indian National Congress, which holds five seats, backed Vijay soon after the election results. The party later secured support from Left parties, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Indian Union Muslim League, taking the alliance tally further up.An additional vote also came from the lone MLA of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam led by TTV Dhinakaran.The BJP-led alliance remained divided during the vote. Four MLAs from the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the BJP’s lone legislator stayed neutral during the proceedings.The TVK’s effective strength had also reduced ahead of the floor test. One MLA moved to the Speaker’s chair, Vijay vacated one of the two constituencies he had won and another member’s election victory remains under legal challenge. Despite that, every available TVK legislator turned up to vote in favour of the government.Hours after the confidence vote proceedings in the House, Palaniswami removed rebel leaders, including C Ve Shanmugam, SP Velumani, R Kamaraj, C Vijayabaskar and Natham R Viswanathan, from their respective party posts.