- Vijay appointed 15 new Deputy General Secretaries, including 11 ex-AIADMK ministers
- Six AIADMK MLAs resigned and joined TVK, triggering allegations of horse-trading
- TVK denied horse-trading, stating MLAs resigned voluntarily due to AIADMK's alliance with BJP
TVK Chief Vijay has appointed 15 new Deputy General Secretaries, including 11 former AIADMK ministers, in what is being seen as an outreach to AIADMK leaders and cadres.
Among those appointed are former ministers Kadambur Raju, Vellamandi Natarajan and Vaigai Selvan.
Announcing the appointments, Vijay said the new functionaries would take up their responsibilities along with existing office-bearers, and sought the cooperation of party cadres.
"I request the party cadres to extend their full cooperation to the new office-bearers," Vijay said.
The move comes amid a steady influx of AIADMK leaders into the TVK. Six AIADMK MLAs have resigned and joined the ruling party within months of the Assembly election.
Two of the resulting vacancies -- Madurantakam and Dharapuram -- are being contested in bypolls on October 6. TVK has fielded the same former AIADMK lawmakers who resigned and joined the party, triggering opposition allegations of horse-trading, a charge the ruling party has rubbished.
Vijay had defended the switches while campaigning in Madurantakam, saying the AIADMK's attempt to ally with the DMK and form the government had caused anguish among followers of MGR and Jayalalithaa. From the beginning of the 2026 campaign, Vijay had projected the electoral battle primarily as one between the TVK and DMK.
TVK spokesperson M Sathya Kumar, speaking to NDTV, denied horse-trading allegations.
"TVK did not poach AIADMK MLAs. They resigned on their own and joined TVK," he said, adding that the MLAs believed there was no future for them in the AIADMK under EPS's leadership and did not want to wait five years.
Sathya Kumar also said the AIADMK's alliance with the BJP had gone against the wishes of the party and contributed to its electoral defeat.
"There was no horse-trading. The resigned AIADMK MLAs were not promised tickets for the by-elections," he said.
Asked why TVK had chosen to field the same former AIADMK lawmakers instead of its own candidates, he said: "The TVK leadership decided on fielding the same candidates to win the elections."
Meanwhile, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, campaigning in Madurantakam, urged voters to defeat the TVK candidate, saying he had come to seek justice against those who had betrayed the AIADMK.
AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Inbadurai has complained to the Election Commission, objecting to a speech made by Tamil Nadu minister Aadhav Arjuna suggesting AIADMK's two leaves symbol and TVK's whistle symbol are one and the same.
