C. Vijayabaskar. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The exodus of influential regional leaders from the AIADMK continued on Thursday (July 2, 2026), with former Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, former Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar, several other senior functionaries and thousands of cadres joining Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), dealing a fresh blow to the Dravidian major.In the presence of TVK general secretary and Minister for Water Resources and Rural Development N. Anand, general secretary (election campaign management) and Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna and other Ministers, they joined the ruling party at a private resort in Mamallapuram, nearly 60 km south of Chennai.Dr. Vijayabaskar, who had been associated with the AIADMK since his college days and served as the Health Minister between 2013 and 2021 in the Cabinets headed by former Chief Ministers J. Jayalalithaa, O. Panneerselvam, and Edappadi K. Palaniswami, had resigned his Assembly membership on June 16.He was elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from Pudukkottai in 2001 and from Viralimalai in 2011, 2016, 2021, and 2026. Dr. Vijayabaskar was a strongman of the AIADMK in Pudukkottai district.His namesake, who hails from Karur, served as Transport Minister between 2016 and 2021. He was elected to the Assembly from Karur in the 2016 and 2026 elections, both by narrow margins. He resigned his Assembly membership on June 29.Both of them were part of the group of 25 rebel AIADMK MLAs who voted in favour of the Mr. Vijay-led government during the vote of confidence in the Assembly on May 13, defying the party whip.Former AIADMK Ministers M.S.M. Anandan and S. Valarmathi also joined the TVK. Mr. Anandan won the 2011 election from the Tiruppur North Assembly segment and served as Forest Minister. He won the Palladam seat in 2021 and lost to TVK’s V. Sathyabama, who earlier served as the Tiruppur MP (2014-19) on an AIADMK ticket, in the 2026 election from Tiruppur North.Ms. Valarmathi was elected to the Assembly from the Srirangam Assembly segment in the 2015 by-election, necessitated following the conviction (later acquitted) of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in a disproportionate assets case. Ms. Valarmathi also won the same seat in 2016 and served as Backward Classes Welfare Minister.Former MLAs including E.M. Manraj (Srivilliputhur), M.S.R. Rajavarman (Tiruchuli), Thirugnanasambandam (Peravurani), Sundararajan (Sankari), and Ramachandran (Sivaganga), and former district secretaries of the AIADMK also joined the TVK.On June 6, four former AIADMK Ministers — M.C. Sampath, N.R. Sivapathi, Kadambur C. Raju, and Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan — crossed over to the ruling party. They followed Maragatham Kumaravel (Maduranthakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), and Esakki Subaya (Ambasamudram), who had won the 2026 elections on the AIADMK ticket, resigned their MLA posts, and joined the TVK. Published - July 02, 2026 12:18 pm IST
