Congress MLA Vijayadharani Joins BJP, Triggers Speculation in Tamil Nadu Politics

Chennai: Giving credence to the rumours that had been floating around for quite some time, Congress MLA representing Vilavancode constituency in Kanyakumari district, S Vijayadharani, joined the BJP at New Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of State L Murugan, BJP national secretary Aravind Menon and BJP national co-in charge of Tamil Nadu P Sudhakar Reddy on Saturday.

Welcoming Vijayadarani into the party fold, BJP State president K Annamalai said in his message on X that her presence would ‘strengthen the path of TN BJP in realizing the political change in Tamil Nadu’ He said she was ‘much inspired’ by the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In her letter to Congress president Malikarjun Kharge, she said that she was resigning from the primary membership and related posts in the party for personal reasons.

Vijayadharani, a three-time MLA from Vilavancode constituency, had said that women had no place in the Congress and that the BJP treated its women members well. Besides, the Congress was besotted with several internal problems and that Modi provided an inspiring leadership.

Since Vijayadharani’s switchover would attract the provisions of the anti-defection law, she would have to resign her MLA post, necessitating a by-election. Whether she would contest in the by-election for the same Assembly seat or the Lok Sabha elections in a BJP ticket is not known.

The news of the MLA’s defection was received with celebrations in the Congress with cheerful workers distributing sweets and raising slogans in praise of her leaving the party. The newly appointed TNCC president Selvaperuntthogai said that she was of no use to the party anyway and her resignation would not affect the Congress in anyway.