The split verdict delivered by the two-member Madras High Court bench on the Speaker’s decision to disqualify 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs has given a fresh lease of life for the Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) government. It is not just the EPS government which will breathe easier but even the Modi government, which has the tacit support of 37 AIADMK members in the Lok Sabha and more important, the support of 12 of its party members in Rajya Sabha, where the BJP and its allies continues to be in a minority.