On December 6, for the second time in a row, Aadhav Arjuna, son-in-law of 'Lottery King' Santiago Martin, stirred a controversy while sharing the stage with actor-politician Vijay. His sharp criticism of the DMK, its leadership and the state government turned into a huge controversy, compelling the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan to suspend him from the party for six months.
On Sunday, December 15, Aadhav chose to quit the party. His resignation came immediately after Thirumavalavan warned him against making controversial statements while under suspension. And now, days after quitting the party, Aadhav Arjuna seems to be in talks to get into the main opposition party AIADMK.
Sources close to him told THE WEEK that Aadhav has been in talks with the AIADMK leadership and also Vijay. Sources say that he will work as a strategist for the AIADMK during the 2026 election, while being in the party. Sources also say that he is in talks with Vijay to ensure that the AIADMK and Vijay’s TVK come into an alliance to defeat the DMK-led alliance in the state assembly election in 2026. Sources say that he held talks with AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami hours before the opposition party’s general council meeting on December 15.
In fact, in his resignation letter addressed to Thirumavalavan, Arjuna called his work with the VCK an honour and a responsibility to fight for the marginalised. “I stood firm as a soldier of social justice, doing what I could to eradicate societal inequalities,” he wrote. He claimed that he dedicated himself to advancing the party’s vision of caste annihilation and justice.
While Aadhav’s idea of forging a formidable alliance to fight the DMK, is welcomed by the AIADMK insiders, they have their own apprehensions as the BJP, on the other hand, is working to restore its 2019 alliance. In fact, on Tuesday while addressing a press conference, AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran suggested that the AIADMK has to join the BJP alliance to fight the election. He said the party is already facing an existential crisis and any other strategy will not help the AIADMK retain its strength in the state.