Former AIADMK MP P.R. Sundaram and former Minister Thoppu N.D. Venkatachalam joined the DMK here on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister and party president M.K. Stalin.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Sundaram said the AIADMK had become a casteist party.
He said AIADMK co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami had become a dictator and leaders like former Ministers P. Thangamani and Velumani were calling the shots. He said AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam had become a mere “rubber stamp”, and was content with just getting a post.
Mr. Sundaram won the Lok Sabha election from Namakkal in 2014, and was not re-nominated for the seat in the 2019 election. In the election held in 1996, when the AIADMK under Jayalalithaa faced a rout, he was among the four MLAs elected to the Assembly from the party.
‘A DMK bastion’
Mr. Venkatachalam vowed to make Erode a DMK bastion. “Though the DMK won comfortably and came back to power, I know of Mr. Stalin’s concerns about not being able to secure more seats in Erode. We will play a role in addressing it,” he said at the Anna Arivalayam.
He said over 900 workers of various parties and organisations had joined the DMK with him, and he would rope in 25,000 more if Mr. Stalin directed him to do so.
He hailed Mr. Stalin’s governance and said it was ensuring social justice and serving as a role model for the country.
Mr. Venkatachalam was elected to the Assembly from Perundurai in 2011 and 2016, and served as the Minister for Environment and Revenue in the Jayalalithaa government. Since he was denied nomination in the 2021 election, he contested as an Independent and was expelled from the AIADMK.
