S Semmalai (L), a former AIADMK minister, joined the ruling TVK in a ceremony with chief minister C Joseph Vijay (R)
Semmalai served as a minister in the 2001-06 AIADMK Cabinet led by late chief minister Jayalalithaa and remained an AIADMK functionary for more than four decades. The ruling TVK had said loyalists of late MGR, AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa would continue to join the party, PTI reported.
“I am much worried about the happenings in the party; it is fragile; the present situation is not comfortable to me,” Semmalai had said while explaining his decision to quit the party. Former AIADMK health minister C Vijayabaskar was among those who joined the TVK after its victory in the Assembly polls.
AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan had also joined the TVK months before the state polls and later became a minister in the Cabinet led by Vijay. CHENNAI: Former AIADMK minister S Semmalai on Wednesday joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in the presence of party founder and chief minister C Joseph Vijay.