Former Tamil Nadu Transport Minister and Karur MLA M.R. Vijayabhaskar resigned from the AIADMK on Monday, becoming the sixth legislator to quit the party since the recent Assembly elections.
Vijayabhaskar met Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar at the State Secretariat in Chennai and formally submitted his resignation from the Assembly.
The latest resignation comes amid growing political instability within the AIADMK following its poor performance in the recently concluded state elections, where the party was pushed to the third position in the Assembly.
Earlier, four AIADMK MLAs resigned from the Assembly and later joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), reducing the opposition’s strength. Another former AIADMK MLA, C. Vijayabaskar, who resigned from the party two weeks ago, is also expected to join Chief Minister Vijay’s party.
M.R. Vijayabhaskar had served as the Transport Minister in the late J. Jayalalithaa-led government. Although he lost the 2021 Assembly election from Karur to DMK leader V. Senthil Balaji, he regained the seat in the 2026 Assembly elections.
With the latest resignation, the number of vacant Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu has increased to seven, including the Trichy East constituency, which was vacated by Chief Minister Vijay after assuming office.
(Agencies)
