Days after launching party, V. Pugazhendi pledges support to DMK

V. Pugazhendi, former AIADMK leader, pledges support to DMK for elections, aiming to combat communal forces in Tamil Nadu.

Within a few days of floating the party Puratchi Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, former secretary of the AIADMK’s Karnataka unit, V. Pugazhendi, extended support to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Mr. Pugazhendi met DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai and extended his support. He told the media that the reason for extending support to the DMK was to oppose communalist forces.

He said he would tour across the State and campaign for the DMK alliance. The ruling DMK has never been in power continuously for 10 years. But, under the leadership of Mr. Stalin, the party will come to power again. He also questioned the future of the AIADMK after the 2026 Assembly elections.

Mr. Pugazhendi was the AIADMK’s Karnataka unit secretary when former Chief Minister and party supremo Jayalalithaa was alive. After her demise, when the AIADMK faced a leadership crisis, Mr. Pugazhendi threw his weight behind Jayalalithaa’s aide V.K. Sasikala and her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran.

When Mr. Dhinakaran floated the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), he joined the party, only to leave after a brief tenure. When the AIADMK faced a leadership struggle between the incumbent general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, he aligned with the latter.