Chennai: Months ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026, AIADMK rebel Manoj Pandian joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at the headquarters of the ruling party in the state on Tuesday, November 4. Other DMK leader where also present at the party headquarters during Pandian's induction into the party.
Pandian said that he would resign as the MLA from the Alangulam assembly seat, reported The Hindu. Notably, as the Representation of People Act, a leader could not retain his seat if he/she voluntarily switched a party.
Pandian reportedly alleged that the AIADMK did not remain the organisation run by late Jayalalitha and MGR. "The AIADMK has thrown to the winds the rules and ideology of the founder and leader of the party. It is functioning like a branch of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. Only DMK is upholding the principles and ideology of the Dravidian movement,” he added as quoted by the media house.
Who Is Manoj Pandian?
Born on August 8, 1971, Manoj Pandian is a current member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He represents the Alangulam constituency. He is the son of former Speaker P.H. Pandian. He was part of the AIADMK faction of former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
A lawyer by training , Pandian won the Tamil Nadu assmebly polls from the Cheranmahadevi constituency in 2001. He also served as the Rajya Sabha from 2010 to 2016. In the 2021 state assembly polls, he won the Alangulam constituency. He had contested both the assembly polls on the AIADMK ticket.
He pursued a Bachelor Of Law (B.L.) from the Madara Law College. Pandian joined the AIADMK in 1993.
