CHENNAI: Sulking former AIADMK minister A Anwhar Rajaa severed his decades-old association with the AIADMK and joined the DMK in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, on Monday

The AIADMK has drifted away from its core ideology and caught in the clutches of the BJP, said Anwhar Rajaa after joining the DMK

Rajaa, who served as Minister of Labour in the J Jayalalithaa-led regime between 2001 and 2006, had grown increasingly discontented with the AIADMK leadership over its renewed alliance with the BJP. He had remained largely silent until now.

The senior leader’s defection came as a shock to the AIADMK, which has already witnessed a decline in support among minority communities. In response, the AIADMK leadership officially announced through party channels that Rajaa had been removed from both his party post and primary membership, said sources in the AIADMK. However, there is no formal statement from party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami till now.

It may be recalled that Rajaa was previously expelled from the AIADMK on November 30, 2021 on charges of “anti-party” activities and stripped of his primary membership. This was a consequence of his public support for then party coordinator O Panneerselvam’s proposal to readmit Jayalalithaa’s close aide, V K Sasikala, into the party. However, Rajaa later rejoined the AIADMK after submitting an apology letter to Palaniswami on August 4, 2023.

He was also among the first to respond to Union Minister Amit Shah’s call for a “coalition government”, overtly expressing that such a model would not be viable in the Dravidian land. He continued to voice strong opposition to the BJP’s power-sharing narrative and propaganda.