Chennai, July 2 (IANS). Former ministers of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Dr. C. Vijayabhaskar and M.R. Vijayabhaskar is going to join the ruling ‘Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam’ (TVK) on Thursday along with around 15,000 supporters and party officials.
This is the biggest political development so far in terms of people joining the party since it came to power. This induction ceremony will take place in a hotel in Malappuram near Chennai. Senior TVK minister N. Anand and Adhav Arjun will formally welcome the leaders and their supporters into the party.
Many well-known former AIADMK leaders are expected to attend the event. Among them is former Tiruchirappalli minister S. Former minister of Valarmathi, Tiruppur, M.S.M. Anandan and former MLAs Manraj (Srivilliputtur), M. Ramkumar (Kumbakonam), Rajavarman (Tiruchirappalli), Sathyan Prabhakar (Paramakudi) and Thirugnanasambandham (Peravurani).
District level leaders are also joining TVK, including P.K. Vairamuthu (Pudukottai), Elambai Tamilselvan (Perambalur), Orathanadu M. Sekar (Thanjavur) and Srinivasan (Tiruchirappalli) along with 208 former union secretaries of the AIADMK.
According to the organizers, around 15,000 party officials and supporters from different parts of Tamil Nadu have reached the venue. It is being told that they came in about 200 buses and more than 600 cars, which shows the large scale of this political change.
In a joint statement issued before joining the party, Dr. C. Vijaybhaskar and M.R. Vijayabhaskar said he remained loyal to AIADMK throughout his political career and stood by the party even during its toughest times.
Both the leaders said that they had met AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami was requested to form an electoral alliance with TVK before the assembly elections, but his suggestion was ignored.
He further claimed that instead Palaniswami tried to become the Chief Minister with the support of DMK. He described any accord between the AIADMK and DMK as “unnatural” and against the ideals based on which party founder M.G. Ramachandran had founded AIADMK.
Expressing disappointment with the party leadership, the former MLAs said they have taken the sad decision of leaving AIADMK “with tears in their eyes”. They are joining TVK with the belief that it offers a new political direction and an opportunity to continue serving the people of Tamil Nadu.
–IANS
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