Former AIADMK minister C Vijayabaskar resigned from the Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday, the fifth lawmaker from his party to quit the House after the elections. There is speculation that like the other four, he may also join the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).Viralimalai MLA and former Tamil Nadu minister C. Vijayabaskar hands over the letter of resignation as a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar. (TN DIPR/ANI)Earlier in the day, the 52 year old leader stepped up his ante against party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami widening the rift against the party high command.On Tuesday, Vijayabaskar called on assembly speaker Prabhakar at the Secretariat and submitted his resignation.In an official release, Prabhakar said, “In accordance with Rule 21 of the legislative assembly rules, the member of the legislative assembly for the Viralimalai constituency Dr C Vijayabaskar has submitted his resignation letter to me in person.”“As the resignation letter submitted by him is in due order in accordance with Rule 22 of the legislative assembly rules, I hereby accept it,” Prabhakar said.With the resignation of Vijayabaskar, the total number of AIADMK lawmakers who had tendered resignation after winning the assembly polls grew to five.The other four who have resigned as AIADMK MLAs are -- S Jayakumar (Perundurai), K Maragadham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), Sathya Bama (Dharapuram), Isakki Subaya (Ambasamudram).Also Read: AIADMK factions’ petitions under scrutiny after split: TN assembly speakerVijayabaskar has not yet responded to HT’s request for comment.Earlier in the day, in a social media post, without naming Palaniswami, Vijayabaskar criticised him saying, “Leadership is neither power nor arrogance. It is an affectionate embrace filled with dedication. A leadership that cannot win the hearts of its hardworking cadres, how will it ever win the hearts of the people??”The fresh set of comments against Palaniswami by Vijayabhaskar follows the remarks made against him on Monday were he said, “A leadership that views its hardworking loyal cadres as enemies and considers that raising questions are crime, it not the path to victory.”Vijayabaskar underscored that the history remembers not how many were expelled but how many people were ‘united’ and how many battlegrounds were conquered.“Leadership matters,” he said in a brief post.The split in the AIADMK surfaced in the assembly on May 13, when 25 MLAs from the C Ve Shanmugam - S P Velumani faction extended their support to the ruling TVK during the crucial floor test.AIADMK which led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu won in 47 seats. While 22 MLAs under Palaniswami faction opposed the floor test.Palaniswami replaced the dissident 25 MLAs by appointing office bearers in their respective posts. Vijayabhaskar who has been serving AIADMK as its state organising secretary and Pudukottai North district secretary was removed from his post.However, week-long negotiations later led the SP Velumani faction to merge under the leadership of Palaniswami.Though there has been a patch up with the unison of the two factions, (former AIADMK minister and MLA from Mailam constituency) C Ve Shanmugham and C Vijayabhaskar were not to be seen visibly under the camp of Palaniswami and have maintained that they were meeting the voters from their respective constituencies for making them emerge victorious in the April 23 assembly polls.In May, Vijayabaskar held a consultative meeting with his supporters in Pudukottai and formally declared that his next political move would be in sync with the wishes of his supporters and those who elected him from the Viralimalai assembly constituency.A doctor by profession, Vijayabaskar said he received the feedback from his supporters and the people of his constituency who were responsible for his victory from the Viralimalai assembly seat.