CHENNAI: Former AIADMK minister Vellamandi R Natarajan has joined actor-politician Vijay’s TVK, party sources said on Thursday, marking yet another setback for the AIADMK amid a string of recent defections.Natarajan, who previously served as Tamil Nadu’s tourism minister, met TVK general secretary ‘Bussy’ N Anand and formally joined the party on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.He is the fifth leader with AIADMK links to enter TVK this week. His move comes days after four rebel AIADMK MLAs resigned from the assembly and joined Vijay’s party, signalling growing churn within the opposition camp ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections.Natarajan had won the Tiruchirappalli East assembly seat in 2016 on an AIADMK ticket. During the party’s internal power struggle after J Jayalalithaa’s death, he sided with former chief minister O Panneerselvam.Although he briefly distanced himself from the AIADMK fold, Natarajan had rejoined the party in February this year after Panneerselvam aligned with the DMK.His latest switch is expected to further intensify political speculation over TVK’s efforts to expand its base by attracting leaders from established Dravidian parties.(With PTI inputs)
