4 ex-AIADMK ministers, 6 ex-MLAs join TVK citing disrespect

The exodus from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) continues as four former ministers and six former MLAs officially joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party on Saturday. The defectors cited a lack of respect and discipline as their primary reasons for leaving the AIADMK, particularly under the leadership of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.

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We only need respect and we do not need any other posts.

Among the prominent figures joining TVK were former ministers Kadambur Raju, Udumala Radhakrishnan, M C Sampath, and N R Sivapathy. They were welcomed by TVK general secretary N Anand and election campaign management general secretary Aadhav Arjuna at the party's office in Chennai. Six former AIADMK MLAs, along with former MP A Ilavarasan, also switched allegiance to TVK. Notably, two former DMK MLAs, P Kamaraj and M S Shanmugam, also joined the ruling party.

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The AIADMK maintained a “strict discipline” only during the late Jayalalithaa’s regime.

Udumala Radhakrishnan, who served in the late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet, expressed dissatisfaction with the party's direction over the past five years, stating, "We only need respect and we do not need any other posts." He contrasted the current situation with the AIADMK's "strict discipline" during Jayalalithaa’s regime. M C Sampath remarked that their presence in AIADMK had been "merely in name only" for the past nine years since Jayalalithaa's demise, praising the TVK administration for its transparency.

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Today, we have proudly joined the TVK with full satisfaction. It is a family event for us.

This wave of defections follows significant setbacks for the AIADMK since the May 4 assembly election results. Earlier, a group of 25 AIADMK MLAs supported a confidence motion for Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, defying the party whip. Subsequently, four AIADMK MLAs joined TVK shortly after being elected, and former AIADMK minister Vellamandi N Natarajan and former MLA R Natraj also recently moved to TVK. Aadhav Arjuna welcomed the new members, emphasizing the TVK's familial atmosphere without competition or jealousy.

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For the past nine years (following Jayalalithaa’s demise), our presence in the AIADMK was merely in name only.