The AIADMK leaders transitioning to TVK include Udumalai K Radhakrishnan, M C Sampath, Kadambur C Raju, and N R Sivapathi. They were welcomed into the ruling party by TVK General Secretary Anand and General Secretary for election campaign management Aadhav Arjuna.
Following the electoral defeat on April 23, the AIADMK has encountered a series of challenges. Initially, a faction of 25 rebel MLAs supported a confidence motion initiated by CM C Joseph Vijay in the Assembly, disregarding the party’s directive to oppose it. Four of these rebel MLAs subsequently resigned and aligned with TVK before the rebel faction reconciled with General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami. Since then, numerous AIADMK members have left the party to join TVK.
The recent departure of the four former AIADMK ministers to TVK exemplifies a growing trend.
Udumalai Radhakrishnan faced defeat in the Udumalpet constituency. Similarly, Sampath finished third in the Cuddalore Assembly constituency, while Kadambur Raju also lost in Kovilpatti.
On May 29, over 300 AIADMK members made the switch to TVK at its Panaiyur headquarters in Chennai. This group included former AIADMK Ministers Vellamandi Natarajan and Anandan, as well as former MLAs Natraj and Sadhan Prabhakar.
K A Sengottaiyan was the first prominent leader to defect from AIADMK to join TVK, having supported Vijay long before the elections.
