Chennai: A three-time Congress MLA from Vilavancode constituency in south Tamil Nadu, Vijayadharani, has gone off the radar of her party leaders for the past few days triggering strong speculations that she may join the BJP soon. She has not turned up in the Assembly during the ongoing Budget session and party leaders said they are unable to reach her.
“She has not informed any of us about her absence from the Assembly and we are not able to reach her, either. Vijayadharani has not been taking calls from party leaders,” a source in the Congress confirmed on Saturday.
When a Tamil television news channel’s journalist, managed to reach her, Vijayadharani, was ambiguous and non-committal about the likelihood of her jumping the ship. The MLA, who is a lawyer by qualification, said she was in Delhi in connection with a case in the Supreme Court.
Vijayadharani likely to join BJP in presence of Nadda
Sources said if she does join the BJP, it could be either in the presence of BJP national president J P Nadda in Delhi or when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Tamil Nadu later this month to address a public meeting in Tiruppur district in western Tamil Nadu.
If Vijayadharani does formally join the BJP, it would be a big blow for the Congress, and a major boost for the saffron party as this would be the first time a sitting legislator would be crossing over when the current Assembly’s term is only half over.
At one point she was regarded as a prominent face of the Congress on Tamil television news channels. However, in recent years she has been maintaining a low profile upset that she was not made the Congress Legislature Party leader in 2021.
