Chennai, 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-member House, securing the support of alliance partners Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian Union Muslim League, and 25 AIADMK lawmakers, led by legislators SP Velumani and Shanmugam. The main opposition party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, walked out of the House, alleging 'horse-trading". Only 22 members of the AIADMK, led by Palaniswami, voted against the government as a clutch of smaller parties, such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, abstained. "This government runs at horse-speed, not through horse-trading," Vijay said. But the TVK's triumph was overshadowed by the crisis brewing within the AIADMK, where both factions had previously elected their own legislative party leaders and submitted claims to the speaker of being the original party. The factionalism is reminiscent of the split in the AIADMK following the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, which eventually reached the Election Commission. At that time, Palaniswami emerged the winner. On Wednesday evening, Palaniswami removed Shanmugam, Velumani and C Vijayabhaskar, leaders of the rival faction, from their respective party posts. He also removed 23 others from the posts they held in districts, and other office-bearers considered close to the faction leaders. Palaniswami did not reveal the reasons behind the removals but appointed new members as district secretaries. Shanmugam rejected the removals. "Palaniswami is planning to hold the general council meeting by removing us from party posts. We will take part in the general council meeting. No one can stop us," he said. But Palaniswami's loyalists alleged that the 25 people who backed Vijay will face proceedings under the anti-defection law, which requires a faction to command two-thirds strength to escape disqualification. "The anti-defection law under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution will certainly apply to any AIADMK MLA who acts against the orders of the official whip appointed by Palaniswami," said AIADMK MP Rajya Sabha I S Inbadurai....