R Dharmar, a Rajya Sabha MP and a loyalist of ousted AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, on Saturday rejoined the AIADMK after calling on party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami here.
Along with his supporters from Ramanathapuram, Dharmar called on Palaniswami at the AIADMK headquarters here and formally returned to the party.
"Today, I paid (Palaniswami) a courtesy call. Along with me, the party supporters of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Thondarkal Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu (launched by O Panneerselvam) from Ramanathapuram got reinducted into the AIADMK," Dharmar told reporters.
Explaining his decision, he said, "I am a Rajya Sabha MP of AIADMK. The purpose of my meeting with him (Palaniswami) is to remove the DMK regime from Tamil Nadu. Our future Chief Minister is Edappadi K Palaniswami." Asked whether he informed former CM Panneerselvam about his decision, Dharmar replied, "You should ask this question to him (Panneerselvam)." He denied any differences with Panneerselvam and others and said, "It is my conscious decision (to rejoin AIADMK)." The development comes a week after former AIADMK Minister R Vaithilingam, another staunch supporter of Panneerselvam and an MLA from the Orathanad constituency in Thanjavur district, called on DMK President M K Stalin and joined the party.
In November 2025, AIADMK rebel Manoj Pandian, also a loyalist of Panneerselvam, joined the DMK.
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