Former Higher Education Minister and AMMK deputy general secretary P. Palaniappan joined the DMK on Saturday, in the presence of Chief Minister and party president M.K. Stalin.
Mr. Palaniappan was a member of the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK Ministry after winning the Pappireddipatti Assembly seat in 2011.
He again won in 2016 but was not accommodated in the Cabinet. Following Jayalalithaa’s death, he was among the 18 MLAs, who switched loyalties to the T.T.V. Dhinakaran faction and were subsequently disqualified from the Assembly, for withdrawing their support to the then Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami. Mr. Palaniappan unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Dharmapuri.
AMMK’s organising secretary and ex-MLA C. Jayanthi Padmanabhan along with 30 other office-bearers also joined the DMK, according to a release. She won from Gudiyattam in 2016 and was among the disqualified MLAs.
Over 100 cadres of AIADMK from Karur district joined the DMK.
