Chennai

More than 300 members of the AIADMK formally joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Saturday at the party's headquarters in Panaiyur near Chennai, stating that they were unable to effectively serve the public while remaining in their former party.

Among those who switched allegiance were several prominent AIADMK leaders, including former minister Vellamandi Natarajan, Anna Trade Union Federation state secretary Kamalakkannan, former Mylapore MLA Natraj, former minister Anandan, former Paramakudi MLA Sadhan Prabhakar, and Tirupathur city secretary D.T. Kumar.

The induction ceremony was attended by TVK General Secretary and Rural Development Minister N. Anand, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sengottaiyan, and Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna.

Senior leader and former minister Udumalai Radhakrishnan said that several veteran AIADMK figures, including Trichy N.R. Sivapathi, Kadambur Raju, M.C. Sampath, Panneerselvam, Govindasamy and Kolathur Krishnamoorthy, had also joined TVK.

Reflecting on the AIADMK's past under former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, Radhakrishnan said the party maintained strict discipline during her leadership. He described her death as a turning point that significantly weakened the organisation.

According to him, despite remaining with AIADMK over the last five years, many leaders felt constrained and unable to work effectively for the people. He said they saw the values associated with M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) and Jayalalithaa reflected in the leadership of Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, which encouraged them to make the move.

Radhakrishnan pledged full support to TVK and said the new entrants would work to strengthen the party ahead of the forthcoming local body elections. He also stressed that they would carry out any responsibility entrusted to them by the party leadership with discipline and commitment.

He further claimed that more district-level functionaries and senior AIADMK leaders were likely to join TVK in the coming months, adding that many members had been dissatisfied within AIADMK for a considerable period.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Sengottaiyan credited TVK's rapid growth to public support for political change in Tamil Nadu. He said the party had achieved unprecedented success within a short period of its formation and expressed confidence in Chief Minister Vijay's leadership.

Sengottaiyan argued that the people had embraced a leadership capable of providing clean and efficient governance. Drawing on his experience of working with both MGR and Jayalalithaa, he said TVK was carrying forward a similar political legacy.

Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna echoed these views, claiming that the TVK government had taken significant steps to eliminate corruption and improve governance. He asserted that the administration had surpassed previous governments in ensuring transparency and accountability.

Arjuna maintained that TVK had not lured legislators with incentives and welcomed those who joined voluntarily. He alleged that developments within AIADMK had contributed to the growing migration of its members to TVK.

He further predicted that a large majority of AIADMK workers could eventually join TVK and urged the party leadership to organise regular membership drives to accommodate the growing influx of supporters.

Welcoming the new entrants, Rural Development Minister N. Anand assured them that they would be treated with dignity and respect within the party. He called for unity among party workers and leaders and expressed confidence that TVK would perform strongly in the upcoming panchayat elections.

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Anand said the party's growth was driven by public confidence in Vijay's leadership and reiterated TVK's commitment to maintaining a corruption-free administration while expanding its support base across the state.