CHENNAI: In one of the biggest defections from the AIADMK since the 2026 Assembly election, four former ministers — C Vijayabaskar, MR Vijayabhaskar, S Valarmathi and MSM Anandan — along with several former MLAs and hundreds of party office-bearers joined the ruling TVK on Thursday. They were inducted into the party at a private resort in Mamallapuram in the presence of ministers N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, and other senior leaders.
C Vijayabaskar, who resigned as the Viralimalai MLA on June 16, said, “We urged our (AIADMK) leadership to forge a pre-poll alliance with TVK. After the people gave their verdict in favour of TVK, we requested the party to extend support to the government.
The AIADMK leadership rejected that too,” he said. Alleging that the AIADMK leadership was instead attempting to forge ties with the DMK, Vijayabaskar said such a move was against the ideals of party founder MG Ramachandran, who had described the DMK as a “theeya sakthi” (evil force). Calling Vijay the “force of change”, he expressed confidence that the party would win all forthcoming elections.
Vijayabaskar also claimed that nearly 10,000 AIADMK cadre joining the TVK is just a “trailer” and the “main picture” would unfold in the delta region.
“Because of his (Edappadi K Palaniswami) wrong decisions, the party is now at stake. Only because the current leadership decided to join hands with the DMK have we left the party,” said MR Vijayabhaskar, who resigned as Karur MLA earlier this week.
Addressing the gathering, Aadhav Arjuna said the AIADMK and the TVK share common ideals. “The AIADMK was created in opposition to the DMK. Jayalalithaa was humiliated by the DMK in the Assembly. TVK and AIADMK share the same ideals and objectives,” he said.
Minister Arunraj drew a parallel between Vijay and MGR, saying those joining the party were “coming from MGR’s party to the living MGR’s party”. Claiming that the induction of “two Vijayabaskars” has brought a substantial section of the AIADMK organisation into the TVK,
Aadhav alleged that the DMK and AIADMK would soon announce an electoral alliance, either for the local body elections or the next Lok Sabha polls. He also launched a personal attack on MK Stalin, saying he would be the last CM from his family.
Welcoming the new entrants, N Anand assured them of organisational positions within the party. “You are now part of the TVK family,” he said.
Meanwhile, Palaniswami on Thursday appointed a few more office-bearers. STK Jakkaiyan has been named one of the organising secretaries, while DK Rajendran is the new deputy propaganda secretary.
