Archive · 30 Sep 2026
Former AIADMK Minister Semmalai Joins Ruling TVK Camp
S Semmalai was an important leader in the AIADMK party.
He left that party more than four months ago because he was unhappy with its condition.
On Wednesday, he joined a different party called TVK.
TVK leader and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay welcomed him at a rally in Dharapuram.
Vijay gave Semmalai a party shawl to mark his joining.
Semmalai is 81 years old and has worked in politics for more than four decades.
He was once a minister under J Jayalalithaa and was also a member of Parliament.
Other former AIADMK leaders have also joined TVK.
The moves followed TVK’s reported victory in the Assembly elections.
Former AIADMK minister S Semmalai joined the ruling TVK on Wednesday at a bypoll rally in Dharapuram.
TVK founder and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay welcomed Semmalai and presented him with a party shawl.
The 81-year-old Semmalai quit AIADMK more than four months earlier, citing concerns about the party’s fragile condition.
Semmalai served as an AIADMK minister under J Jayalalithaa and represented Salem in the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014.
His move follows the defections of several prominent AIADMK leaders after TVK’s reported victory in the April 2026 Assembly elections.
- Who
- S Semmalai, a former AIADMK minister and Lok Sabha member, joined TVK in the presence of C Joseph Vijay.
- What
- Semmalai formally joined the ruling TVK after leaving AIADMK more than four months earlier.
- When
- Wednesday; the articles also place the move after the April 2026 Assembly elections.
- Where
- At a bypoll rally in Dharapuram.
- Why
- Semmalai had said AIADMK was fragile and that he was worried about the party’s direction; the article also describes a broader movement of former AIADMK leaders into TVK.
TVK’s expansion
AIADMK’s organizational concerns
Meaning of the defections
TVK’s expansion
TVK presents the arrival of former AIADMK leaders as continued support from loyalists of M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, following its reported Assembly election victory.
AIADMK’s organizational concerns
Semmalai said AIADMK had become fragile and that insufficient efforts were being made to strengthen its organization, explaining why he left.
Political alignment
TVK’s expansion
Semmalai and several other former AIADMK leaders have moved into the ruling TVK camp, with K A Sengottaiyan becoming a minister after joining.
AIADMK’s organizational concerns
AIADMK was relegated to third position in the state Assembly after the reported April 2026 election result, according to the article.
- Joining leader
- S Semmalai
- New party
- TVK
- Former party
- AIADMK
- Age
- 81
- Former parliamentary seat
- Salem Lok Sabha constituency, 2009–2014
- Ministerial service
- AIADMK Cabinet led by J Jayalalithaa, 2001–2006
- Joining venue
- A bypoll rally in Dharapuram