The new joinees with senior leaders of the TVK at Panaiyur on the outskirts of Chennai
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The exodus of prominent regional faces from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) continued on Saturday (June 6, 2026), with four former Ministers — M.C. Sampath, N.R. Sivapathi, Kadambur C. Raju, and Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan — crossing over to the ruling party.
They joined the TVK at its headquarters in Panaiyur on the outskirts of Chennai in the presence of party general secretary and Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources N. Anand and a few other Ministers.
Barring Mr. Sivapathi, the other three former Ministers who joined the TVK had contested and lost the 2026 Assembly election. Mr. Sivapathi won the Thottiyam Assembly segment in the 1991 election and the Musiri Assembly constituency in 2011. He also served as Education Minister. Mr. Sampath, who represented the Nellikuppam Assembly segment between 2001 and 2006 and the Cuddalore Assembly segment between 2011 and 2021, served as a Minister handling various portfolios.
Mr. Raju had won the Kovilpatti Assembly segment three times in a row since 2011. He also served as Minister for Information and Publicity between 2016 and 2021. Mr. Radhakrishnan won the Udumalaipettai Assembly segment in the 2016 and 2021 elections and also served as a Minister. Earlier, he served as Chairman of Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable Television (TACTV).
Leaders represent various regions
These former Ministers represent four different zones of the State. Mr. Sampath is from Cuddalore district (north), Mr. Sivapathi hails from Tiruchi district (central), Mr. Raju is from Thoothukudi district (south), and Mr. Radhakrishnan is from Tiruppur district (west). Their induction into the TVK is likely to strengthen the ruling party in the respective zones.
Several former district secretaries and former MLAs of the AIADMK, including A. Govindasamy (Pappireddipatti), M. Murugan (Mudukulathur), V. Panneerselvam (Kalasapakkam), V.K.R. Srinivasan (Arcot), and Sadhan Prabhakar (Paramakudi) joined the TVK. Former AIADMK MP from Tenkasi M. Vasanthi, and former DMK MLA from T. Nagar J. Karunanidhi also joined the party.
The latest defections come close on the heels of four AIADMK MLAs — Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), and Esaki Subaya (Ambasamudram) — resigning their Assembly membership and joining the TVK within days of being elected to the Assembly last month. A few days ago, former AIADMK Minister Vellamandi N. Natarajan and former Mylapore MLA R. Natraj also joined the TVK.
‘Many great opportunities’
Reacting to the defections, Raj Satyen, secretary of the information technology (IT) wing of the AIADMK, on Saturday expressed the hope that the ongoing events would pave the way for giving “many great opportunities” to the youth in the parent body.
“This is the right time to build #NexGenAIADMK!” Mr. Satyen stated on his social media handle. He alluded to the defections and tagged his post to the official handles of the party and its general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, he added: “The path is opening up. Our leadership will show [us] the way.”
(With inputs from T. Ramakrishnan)
Published – June 06, 2026 02:15 pm IST
