Former Speaker Dhanapal says he is no longer with AIADMK

Former Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly P. Dhanapal on Thursday (May 21, 2026) announced he was no longer with the AIADMK. 

After attending the swearing-in of his son and Rasipuram legislator, D. Logesh Tamilsevan, as Minister in the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led Cabinet, at the Lok Bhavan in Chennai, Mr. Dhanapal told reporters he had not been given “importance” by the AIADMK leadership. “They [the leadership] had ignored others. Now, the people have ignored them,” he quipped, adding he was upset over the current plight of the party as he had been in the organisation from the start.

Mr. Dhanapal, who served as the Speaker from October 2012 to May 2021, was Minister for Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Co-operation, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection from May 2001 to November 2002. The 76-year-old veteran was elected to the Assembly on seven occasions –  in 1977, 1980, 1984, 2001, 2011, 2016, and 2021. 

Earlier this week, another AIADMK veteran and former Minister S. Semmalai had quit the party.