India, May 14 -- Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay comfortably won a trust vote in the assembly on Wednesday but the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) sank deeper into crisis after a majority of its 47 lawmakers voted in favour of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Hours after the trust vote, former chief minister E Palaniswami removed 26 leaders, including 12 legislators,from all party posts and appointed his own picks to replace them. But the leader of the rebel group, CV Shanmugam, called the action invalid and said they will fight it.

Three days after Vijay took oath as the first chief minister of Tamil Nadu to not hail from either Dravidian major, the actor-turned-politician garnered 144 votes in the 234-mem...