Four former AIADMK ministers—M.C. Sampath, Kadambur Raju, Radhakrishnan and Sivapathi—joined the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) at an event held at the party’s headquarters in Panaiyur near Chennai on Friday.
The induction comes amid a wider churn in the AIADMK. The report notes that the party won only 47 seats in the Assembly election and slipped to third place, losing its status as the principal opposition.
Earlier, 25 AIADMK MLAs led by former ministers S.P. Velumani and C.V. Shanmugam voted in support of the TVK government in the Assembly, triggering talk of a split. They later regrouped under AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, but discontent continued.
Several leaders have since moved to TVK, including former MLAs and district-level functionaries. At the same event, former AIADMK MLAs Panneerselvam (Kalasapakkam) and Sadan Prabhakar, Virudhunagar East district secretary Ravichandran, former AMMK MLA Murugan (Ramanathapuram), and former DMK MLAs Kamaraj (Tharamangalam), Shanmugam (Porur) and Karunanidhi (T. Nagar) were among more than 300 who joined.
TVK minister Anand said the party had “one leader” and promised due respect and importance to new entrants. Meanwhile, the report also claims some AIADMK MLAs and functionaries may join Annamalai’s newly launched outfit, adding to the sense that bringing AIADMK back together could become increasingly difficult.
