AIADMK Veteran K.A. Sengottaiyan Resigns, Fuelling Talk of Move to Vijay’s TVK

Veteran AIADMK strongman and nine-time MLA Kaaviri Aarumugam Sengottaiyan formally resigned from the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, effectively ending one of the longest and most illustrious parliamentary careers in the state’s history and triggering feverish speculation about his next destination.

The 72-year-old leader, widely regarded as a pillar of the AIADMK’s dominant Gounder vote bank in the Kongu region, personally walked into the State Secretariat and handed over a handwritten resignation letter to Speaker M Appavu. Official sources confirmed that the resignation is expected to be accepted within the next 24 hours, automatically vacating the Gobichettipalayam seat that Sengottaiyan has held almost uninterrupted since 1977 and setting the stage for a high-stakes by-election.

Intense behind-the-scenes manoeuvring immediately followed the resignation. Senior DMK minister and party organisational heavyweight PK Sekarbabu rushed to meet Sengottaiyan shortly after he left the Speaker’s chamber, signalling a determined last-minute attempt by the ruling party to bring the veteran into its fold. However, multiple sources within both AIADMK and TVK camps insist that discussions with actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam are at an advanced stage, with an announcement likely within days.

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Sengottaiyan’s dramatic departure stems directly from his public rebellion against AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on 5 September, when he demanded the immediate re-induction of expelled heavyweights O Panneerselvam, VK Sasikala, and TTV Dhinakaran to prevent further electoral erosion. His call for unity was swiftly punished with expulsion from all party positions, pushing the veteran—who had served as minister for forests, transport, agriculture, education, IT, and revenue under successive AIADMK regimes—towards the exit door after nearly five decades of unwavering loyalty.

Should Sengottaiyan formally cross over to TVK, it would represent the single most significant political acquisition for Vijay’s fledgling party since its launch, instantly providing the organisation with a battle-hardened mass leader, deep rural networks in western Tamil Nadu, and decades of administrative experience. For a party still building its cadre base, the induction of a leader who has won nine assembly elections and lost only once in 1996 would dramatically alter perceptions of TVK’s viability as the state braces for what promises to be a fiercely contested three-cornered fight in 2026.

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