Chennai: Speculation is mounting in Tamil Nadu political circles that former AIADMK ministers C.V. Shanmugam and C. Vijayabaskar, along with a few other senior leaders, could join the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) at the party’s Panaiyur headquarters on Sunday.
The reports come amid continuing political realignments that have reshaped the state’s Opposition landscape following the 2026 Assembly election.
TVK emerged as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections, winning 107 seats, but fell short of the 118-member majority required to form a government on its own.
To secure power, the Vijay-led party sought support from parties that were part of the DMK-led alliance.
The Congress was the first to extend support, breaking away from the DMK alliance and backing the TVK government.
The party was subsequently rewarded with two ministerial berths and has now also secured a Rajya Sabha seat.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which initially chose to support the government from outside, later joined the administration and received one ministerial position each.
The CPI(M) and CPI have continued to extend unconditional support to the government. Political tensions escalated when AMMK General Secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran alleged that his party MLA Kamaraj had been lured away by TVK through political bargaining.
Ahead of the confidence vote in the Assembly, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay held discussions with the AIADMK faction led by S.P. Velumani and C.V. Shanmugam, which had been functioning separately within the party.
During the trust vote, all 25 MLAs belonging to the Velumani-Shanmugam camp, along with AMMK MLA Kamaraj, voted in favour of the TVK government.
Soon after, AIADMK legislators Maragatham Kumaravel, Jayakumar, Sathyabama and Isakki Subbiah resigned from their positions and formally joined TVK.
Although a section of the dissident AIADMK legislators later returned to the leadership of party General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami under the guidance of S.P. Velumani, several prominent figures remained outside the fold.
Among them were former ministers C.V. Shanmugam and C. Vijayabaskar, whose continued absence has fuelled speculation about their political future.
While neither leader has made any public announcement, reports that they may be preparing to join TVK have generated fresh political buzz.
Former AIADMK minister Vellamandi Natarajan and several others have already crossed over to the ruling party, and any further defections could significantly strengthen TVK’s position in Tamil Nadu politics.
—IANS
