AIADMK exodus continues, 6th MLA exits in two months, likely to join TVK

Chennai,UPDATED: Jun 29, 2026 12:37 IST

Trouble continues to mount for AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, with party MLA M R Vijayabaskar emerging as the latest leader to express dissatisfaction with the leadership and resign from the party. Sources said he is unhappy with Palaniswami's leadership and is likely to join the ruling TVK.

With his exit, MR Vijayabaskar becomes the sixth AIADMK legislator to quit or break ranks since the 2026 Assembly elections. His move comes just days after former Tamil Nadu Health Minister and Viralimalai MLA C Vijayabaskar resigned from the Tamil Nadu Assembly, becoming the fifth AIADMK MLA to step down within a month.

C Vijayabaskar submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar at the Secretariat, and it was later accepted. Sources said he is also expected to join the ruling TVK. Earlier, four AIADMK MLAs resigned from the Assembly and joined the ruling party, reducing the opposition's strength in the House and adding to the pressure on the AIADMK leadership.

The AIADMK has accused the ruling TVK of poaching its legislators and trying to weaken the party founded by MG Ramachandran. TVK has rejected the charge, saying the MLAs changed sides voluntarily because of dissatisfaction with the AIADMK leadership under Palaniswami.

A prominent AIADMK leader from Pudukottai district, C Vijayabaskar first entered the Assembly in 2001 and later won from Viralimalai in 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026. He served as Tamil Nadu Health Minister and oversaw the state's response during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the 2026 Assembly election, he retained the Viralimalai seat by a margin of 62,073 votes despite a strong TVK wave.

After the 2026 elections, C Vijayabaskar aligned himself with the AIADMK rebel camp and voted in favour of the TVK government during the floor test. The party leadership later removed him as the AIADMK's Pudukottai district secretary. His resignation came despite recent efforts by Palaniswami to reunite the party. Last week, former ministers SP Velumani, Natham R Viswanathan and P Thangamani were reinstated to key organisational posts after reconciling with the leadership and reaffirming their support for Palaniswami.

The AIADMK also informed the Assembly Speaker that it wanted to withdraw disciplinary and disqualification proceedings against the rebel faction after the rapprochement. Under the reshuffle, Velumani and Viswanathan were appointed deputy general secretaries, while Thangamani was named organising secretary. Even so, the emergence of MR Vijayabaskar as the latest dissatisfied MLA has added to the party's continuing internal troubles.

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