‘Only four more months’: Senior DMK leader claims Vijay’s Tamil Nadu govt would last only six months; AIADMK leader resigns
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Only four more months’: Senior DMK leader claims Vijay’s Tamil Nadu govt would last only six months; AIADMK leader resigns")
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay Photograph: (ANI)
Senior DMK leader Anitha Radhakrishnan claimed Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s TVK government will collapse within four months, predicting MK Stalin’s swift return to power amidst rising political tensions.
Senior DMK leader Anitha Radhakrishnan launched a sharp attack on the government led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, claiming the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led administration would not survive beyond six months and insisting that DMK chief M. K. Stalin would return to power soon. Addressing a party event in southern Tamil Nadu, the Tiruchendur MLA targeted the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and challenged senior TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna to resign and contest against him from Tiruchendur.
“Only four more months this government will survive. There is one person called Aadhav Arjuna. If you have guts, resign your MLA position, I will also do it. Let’s face off in Tiruchendur. This is our town. We will defeat anyone,” Radhakrishnan declared.
Radhakrishnan has held the Tiruchendur constituency for over two decades. He first won the seat in 2001 on an AIADMK ticket before later retaining it for the DMK in 2009. The DMK leader also defended Stalin after the former chief minister lost his long-held Kolathur constituency to V. S. Babu, a former DMK leader who joined Vijay’s party ahead of the Assembly election.
“We want our ‘thalaivar’ MK Stalin to contest in Trichy. Stalin changed Kolathur as Singapore,” Radhakrishnan said, before criticising voters in the constituency. “‘Thalaivar’ is the next chief minister. After four or six months our leader will become chief minister,” he added. Neither Vijay’s office, the TVK nor Arjuna had responded to the remarks at the time of publication. The comments come amid an intensifying political confrontation between the ruling TVK and the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Vijay’s victory in the April Assembly election marked one of the biggest political upsets in Tamil Nadu in decades. The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, ending more than six decades of alternating power between the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
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The party later secured majority support with backing from the Congress, Left parties and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, all of which were previously aligned with the DMK. Vijay was subsequently sworn in as chief minister and survived a trust vote in the Assembly with support from 144 MLAs against 22 votes. The confidence motion also sparked controversy after a section of AIADMK legislators reportedly defied the party whip to support the TVK government.
S Semmalai resigns from AIADMK
In a major setback for the opposition AIADMK amid intensifying internal rifts, veteran party leader S Semmalai on Monday announced his resignation from the party, citing growing divisions and disappointment over the lack of opportunities after the death of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.
In his resignation letter, Semmalai said the developments within the party following its defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections had caused “great anguish” among party workers and loyalists.
“The events that have unfolded in the AIADMK since the elections have caused great anguish, a sentiment shared by lakhs of cadres who have dedicated themselves for this movement,” Semmalai said. He also expressed frustration over the direction of the party after Jayalalithaa’s demise, saying committed leaders and cadres had not been given adequate opportunities.
