The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam , which has four members in the Lok Sabha, suffered a vertical split on Friday, with the dissident leaders expelling party chief Vaiko from the primary membership of the party.

The general council meeting on Friday, called by dissident leaders L Ganesan and Gingee N Ramachandran, who had been stripped off their party posts as chairman and deputy general secretary respectively by Vaiko recently, passed a resolution expelling Vaiko from the party.

Ganesan and Ramachandran have also moved the Madras High Court, challenging their removal from party posts and also sought to restrain the MDMK leadership from convening any meeting to endorse their removal.

Both of them were removed from the post of party chairman and deputy general secretary for alleged anti-party activities, at meetings convened by Vaiko and MDMK treasurer M Kannapan on December 23 and 25.

Contending that any party meeting not presided over by the party's presiding chairman was unlawful and illegal, they claimed that they were the real leaders of the MDMK and enjoyed the support of the party rank and file.

Charging Vaiko with functioning in an autocratic manner and keeping even party general council members in the dark about his alleged intention to merge MDMK with the AIADMK, they claimed that they were suspended from the party for opposing the idea.

They submitted that only the MDMK general council, which had elected them to the post, had the power to remove them from the posts.

When the petition came up for hearing on Thursday, Justice P Jyothimani posted it for hearing on January 4, along with two other related petitions filed by MDMK headquarters secretary N Ramamurthy.